A Song for Love

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Chapter 15 (The End of The Training Corps) and Chapter 16 (The Breach of Trost) are already available for Patrons.

"Who is there?" Jaime asked as he ran and slammed the door open, his tiny hands holding a knife bigger than his hand; his eyes saw someone he didn't recognize; he seemed even younger than him, his tiny hands around the bread Jaime had stolen from the kitchen, he had saved it for himself.

"That bread is mine!" Jaime watched as his eyes turned red, tears streaming down his face, and his tiny body started trembling as if he was freezing.

"Please, don't cut my hand!" The boy begged, the bread falling from his hands; Jaime looked at him in confusion.

"Why would I cut your hand?"

"Gier, he said he would cut my hand if he caught me stealing," the boy said with more tears streaming down his face, his voice cracking. Jaime lowered his knife down and looked at the boy from up close; his ribs were quite visible, and the oversized coat he was wearing had many cuts, but Jaime knew he was starving.

Like me, Jaime thought, before grasping the bread he had saved that fell to the ground; using his knife, he cut it into two pieces before handing it to the boy, who looked at him with confusion, his stomach growling from hunger.

"You won't cut my hand?" He asked with a tiny voice. Jaime figured he was maybe three years old.

"No. Now eat," Jaime said; the moment those words left his mouth, the boy grasped half of the bread and started eating it way too fast.

"Slow down, you might chock on the bread," Jaime told him strictly; the boy listened to him and started eating much slower; his face brightened as if he had just tasted the most delicious thing in the world. Jaime gave him a glass of water to help it down.

As they ate silently, Jaime remembered that he had forgotten to ask. "What's your name?" 

The boy swallowed the piece of bread he had been chewing on before answering. "I don't really have one, but those that used to take care of me called me Arthur." The kid answered with a smile.

"Arthur, well, my name is Jaime. You can stay here until tomorrow if you want." Jaime said with a friendly smile; his words made Arthur's small face brighten up like a star.

The following morning, Jaime heard someone walking around his house; without thinking twice, he was on his feet right away, his hand reaching for his knife, only to see that it was...Arthur.

'Oh right,' Jaime thought, only now remembering that he had invited him to stay with him until today. Arthur looked terrified, his eyes showing fear as he eyed Jaime's hand close to the knife's handle.

"I'm sorry, I scared you. I just forgot you were here." Jaime apologized, feeling a little embarrassed, his hand moving away from the handle; Arthur looked relieved, lowering his hands.

"No need. I will leave right now." That didn't sit well with the older boy. Arthur was still very young, and he was sure he was hungry, and as if to reaffirm that, the younger boy's stomach growled in hunger.

"Wait-" Jaime paused for a moment; it had always been only him; he didn't know him, but he knew he would feel guilty if he just sent him away right now, at least after he ate a good meal.

"Yes?" Arthur turned to face him.

"Don't leave yet, how about we get some food first, then you can leave." Jaime suggested with a friendly smile, but the younger boy seemed uncertain.

"Are you sure? I'm sure I can find food myself. There's no-" "Nonsense. We find food first, then you can leave if you want." Jaime cut him off; Arthur reluctantly nodded as he looked around the old house in confusion.

"I don't see food here?" He questioned with a tilt of his head. Jaime smiled wickedly, almost an evil smile, as he put his arm around Arthur before walking towards the door.

"Ahh, you see, Arthur, there's a bakery not far from here." Jaime started as he opened the door before pointing at a small building in the distance, smoke coming from the chimney.

"You mean Bon Homme's bakery?" Arthur questioned innocently, looking at Jaime, who nodded eagerly; pulling his arm away, he hid the small knife in a hidden pocket around his thighs; even Arthur wondered where the knife went; it seemed as if it disappeared inside the piece of cloth that Jaime called pants.

"The same, the man gives free bread once a month, while is not enough for everyone, we all are grateful. I just need one loaf of bread, and that's all." Jaime explained. Arthur's eyes widened in happiness; he looked like the holiday had just come, and his tiny face brightened up.

"So is been a month, and now you can take bread again." Arthur said eagerly; he hadn't known this, but this sounded like a very good deal.

"Yup, and now come with me. I will tell you what you have to do." Jaime said, not meeting his eyes. Arthur ignored that as he noticed another bakery, but this one was much closer; he wondered if this one also offered free food once a month.

"What about that one? Can we go there?" Arthur questioned, pointing a finger at the bakery at the end of the road. Jaime followed his gaze, but his face darkened at the sight.

"Not that one, Arthur. Gier, he is not one to be messed with, only the foolish and the very hungry try to ste- buy food from him." Jaime said with a grave voice. Arthur merely nodded; he didn't even like the name; he watched as a man walked out of the old building, holding a machete, suddenly he felt a sharp pain on his wrist, but he ignored it as who he assumed to be Gier caught sight of them, his eyes, they seemed mad, Arthur quickly looked away, a shiver of cold went through his entire body. 

"Come, we don't have long, the others might buy everything, and we will be left with only the scraps," Jaime said with a cheerful smile, grabbing his hand and leading him away. Arthur followed behind, suddenly not wanting to stay there, but he heard what Jaime said about eating the scraps; he found himself not minding it as much; it would probably taste sweeter than worms and flies.

The Underground City barely ever had any police walking around unless it was something important; the Military Police and the Garrison always ignored everything that happened in the Underground City.

"Jaime, can we go to the Dyra Lake?" Arthur suddenly asked, catching him off guard; the place he mentioned wasn't a good place to be at any time of the year.

"Why there? Unless you want to drown there." Jaime asked humorously, knowing the lake had a small cave deep underground at the bottom of the lake bed. No one knew where it went; a constant whirlpool was always there, but many people drowned in that lake.

"Fish, I once found fish there," Arthur answered with a tiny voice as they walked across the city; the people walked around, all wearing very old, dirty clothes. One thing everyone had in common in this city was that the clothes were the worst part; they sometimes caused a bad itch. Jaime remembered a time when he had bled because of a very bad itch on his chin.

"Fish, that's news to me. I have never seen fish there." Jaime answered, sounding intrigued.

"Yes, I found him on the shore, he wasn't moving." 

"Ahh, the whirlpool, it must have pushed him to the shore," Jaime answered, not looking at the little boy, his eyes looking at the shadows of every corner; they always hide there, ready with a knife, or rarely, with a gun. 

Eventually, they reached the bakery; there was a small crowd of people waiting in front of the door. Jaime and Arthur waited and waited, and eventually, their turn was near.

"Arthur, stay here. Take the bread, I will return soon." Arthur couldn't even get a word out before Jaime ran away, disappearing like a ghost into the corner. The little boy looked around with fear; unlike him, he had no knife, nothing to protect himself; he gulped loudly; the people around him towered over him like Titans, and he wondered if they even knew he was there.

Eventually, he was in front of a small square opening in the tall window that seemed like a door two feet above ground. Arthur felt his mouth watering at the sight inside and the smell that engulfed him the moment the chef opened the small opening. He was a thin man with a small mustache and short dark hair; his eyes were kind and friendly, and Arthur found himself smiling back.

"Ohh, who are you, young man? What can I do for you?" His voice, too, came out friendly. Arthur found himself smiling; he wondered where Jaime had gone too.

"A loaf of bread please," Arthur said with a cute smile; he felt like dancing; the thought of eating fresh bread felt like a dream come true.

"Of course, but where's the money." He asked. Arthur felt himself freeze on the spot; suddenly, he felt cold as he opened his mouth, but no words were coming out; the man looked at him as if he could read his mind and knew he held no coin with him, not even a bronze one.

"I-I-I thought-" "Don't worry, little men. Here." The chef said with a smile; he walked back into the kitchen. Arthur waited patiently while looking around, wondering where Jaime was, when the chef returned, holding a bun in his right hand. 

Despite its size, Arthur almost drooled; that bun could last for a whole week. The chef opened the opening and handed him the bun. "Here, young man." Before Arthur could thank him, he suddenly heard a loud noise coming from the kitchen. As if something had fallen down, the chef quickly disappeared behind the kitchen.

"We Need to Run." A familiar voice said in his ear; before he could even process what was happening, Jaime grabbed his arm, dragging him away.

"Jaime, what is happening?" Arthur shouted as he started running with him, he looked over his shoulder, but couldn't see anyone chasing them, he didn't understand why they were running away, but as he looked back forward, he noticed that Jaime was holding a bag made of paper on his arms, with two loaves of bread inside, the sight confused him, but they kept running away until they reached the small house.

Arthur breathed heavily; he couldn't remember the last time he had run so much; sweat rolled down his face; after taking a deep breath, he looked up to see Jaime sitting on top of a square stone, pulling out a loaf of bread. 

"Wh-where did you get that?" Arthur asked with a tiny shaking voice, his heart still beating fast, it felt like it would burst from his chest, suddenly he remembered the bun, he looked down, his heart broke in two, due to all the running, he had squeezed his hands, the bun was nothing but a mess of bread on his hand, it had lost all its beauty, but he knew he could still eat it.

"...I know someone there, he works in the kitchen. He allowed me to get this for a single bronze coin." Jaime answered, not meeting his eyes; Arthur remembered the noise and the way Jaime had grabbed him and told him to run away.

You stole it; he almost said it but held his tongue. The deed was already done; if he returned to the bakery with the bread, the man could hurt Jaime. He didn't want that; he still remembered how he had given him food the previous night.

"Here," Jaime said, breaking half of it and extending it towards him; reluctantly, Arthur accepted the piece and sat beside him. The taste was sweet, almost melting in his mouth; he wondered if this was what honey tasted like.

"We make a pretty good team. You know— you can stay longer if you want. My house is big enough for both of us." Jaime suddenly suggested as he swallowed a piece of bread.

"Stay longer, but you said I could stay only for one day." Arthur reminded him, but Jaime simply shook his head dismissively.

"You can stay longer, don't worry. I will protect you. I promise." He said with the brightest smile Arthur had seen. He thought about it; the lonely night could get scary, and the thought of not being alone sounded like a good dream; he was sure the bad people wouldn't touch him if Jaime was there to protect him.

"Alright. We are a team then." Arthur accepted with a hint of relief and happiness in his voice. He would no longer be alone. 

That same night, Arthur felt the cold on his bones, his little body shivering; suddenly, he felt a blanket falling down on him and covering his body. He opened his eyes just a tiny bit; Jaime walked back to his corner, without his own blanket now. 

Arthur hugged the blanket tightly, no longer feeling cold; now, he felt safe. '

Now - Krista

The day started as usual; it had been a week since Ymir's birthday, but her dear friend was still in high spirits. Despite the bad headache the day after because of all the drinking, Ymir still felt grateful to Jaime for the small party. Krista had caught her many times looking at the necklace and at the drawing that Jaime had made for them.

"Should I be jealous?" Krista suddenly teased, pulling Ymir out of her thoughts.

"Of course not, my dear Krista. No one compares to you, and I was just marvelling at the drawing, he might be a midget, but he is good at drawing."

Krista had to admit this was perhaps the best drawing he had ever made. Krista woke up with a big smile; she couldn't wait to start the day with Jaime and Ymir. She wondered perhaps if he would rather sit with Annie today. She knew there was something between the two; she wasn't sure what it was, but she was certain Jaime held feelings for the Ice Queen, as some called her; even Ymir called her like that.

Sometimes Krista wished that Jaime had fallen for Sasha rather than Annie; she had nothing against her, but the way she was sometimes, she couldn't help but not like how she talked with people, so indifferent, as if no one mattered to her except Jaime.

Krista and the rest of the girls wore their uniforms and ran outside to do the morning training before eating breakfast; as always, Jaime and Mikasa were ahead of everyone in the small race. But after it was over, Jaime didn't talk with them. Instead, he completely ignored everyone and kept running, doing more laps than necessary; this caught the attention of many, but the boys didn't seem as surprised as her that he was running like that.

"Sheesh, if I didn't know any better, I would say he's trying to be in the first place," Ymir commented, slightly impressed, but Krista didn't agree as she watched him run another, another, another, and another lap around the place, she couldn't but feel as if he was trying to run from something, and it wasn't just because he wanted to prove himself, everyone knew he wanted to join the Survey Corps, so there was no point in being Top Ten.

Eventually, Ymir forced Krista to walk to the common room and eat before the food got cold. Krista wanted to wait for him, but Ymir told her that Jaime wanted to blow off some steam, and right now, he wouldn't talk to them even if they asked.

Eating breakfast wasn't as sweet as it should be; Krista couldn't help but constantly look at the wooden door, expecting Jaime to walk inside at any moment. Even Jean and Marco seemed a little off; they weren't talking as much. She often glanced at Annie, and she seemed to be eating just fine, but she caught the small glances she sent towards the door every now and then when she thought no one noticed.

Soon, the time came to train again, but as soon as they walked outside, Krista saw that Jaime was still training; right now, he was training on his ODM Gear. Krista almost shouted his name; this wasn't healthy, but Ymir stopped her before she could say anything.

"We will talk with him once this part of the training is done," Ymir told her, and Krista reluctantly nodded.

But she was proven wrong; Jaime didn't come to eat lunch either. By that point, Krista was very concerned for him. She asked Jean if he knew what was wrong; what they said made her heart freeze. They said that Jaime had woken up screaming in the middle of the night before running outside. They added that he refused to tell anyone what was bothering him, even shouting at them to leave him alone.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Jaime walked inside; he looked exhausted, and everyone's eyes were on him; by this point, everyone had heard that he had trained the whole day relentlessly.

"Jaime, are you okay, men?" Jean asked what everyone else was thinking.

"I'm fine." Jaime's voice came out raspy as he passed Krista's table and sat on a table all by himself, but she wasn't about to let him drown in self-suffering; she stood up and sat beside him; now that she was close, she could see his eyes were slightly red.

"Jaime, what is wrong?" Krista asked softly, rubbing his back, her voice almost a whisper. She didn't want everyone to see him like this, but he merely shook his head and ate the food without uttering a single word to them.

One Week Later

Her hopes that he would get better the next day were squandered the moment she woke up the next day. She found him training beyond what was required and ate only one meal per day. The other two meals, he would tell Sasha that she could eat them if she wanted, but much to everyone's shock.

"This is your food, Jaime. I never eat a friend's food." 

Everyone knew that was a lie. Sasha had no shame when it came to stealing food, but it seemed she refused to touch his food; everyone knew he was going through a tough time.

A week passed, and Jaime's mood and health were only going on a downward spiral. Especially today, Armin told her that he doesn't even know if he is sleeping more than two hours at this point. She had tried to talk with him, but he refused to say anything to them and just walked into the forest with his art book.

Krista had enough by this point; she wouldn't let him kill himself; whatever it was, they would deal with it together, just like they always had. Even back at the farm, he...Wait, he was never there. Historia stopped dead in her tracks. A flash of Jaime appeared in her mind, but he seemed younger, running through the fields she remembered seeing when she was younger.

But... he was never there, she reminded herself; Jaime had never been at the farm. Choosing to ignore that for now, Krista and Ymir found him by himself in the middle of the woods. He seemed to be drawing something in his art book, but as she approached him, unlike all the other beautiful drawings, this one made her shiver.

His drawing was that of a face being torn apart by hands that burst from the ground, trying to tear his face into pieces.

"Jaime." He looked at her behind his shoulder; his purple eyes seemed like they were swimming in a pool of blood, dark bags under his eyes, and he seemed paler.

"Jaime, please. Tell me what's wrong?" Krista pleaded as she sat beside him, her arm around his shoulder; he closed his eyes, the artbook slipping from his fingers and falling onto the ground.

"It's been six years. Six years ago, I did something... sinful, I betrayed the one that called me big bro." Jaime answered with pain in his every word. Krista didn't know what he did, but whatever it had been, she would never look at him any differently.

"You can tell us, Jaime. We won't judge you." Ymir chimed in; the voice she used was unlike the one she often used with Jaime. Instead, it sounded like the voice she always used with Krista.

"No." Jaime quickly said, shaking his head, before taking a bottle full of water from his waist and pouring it on his face.

"I-I don't want to talk about it. I will get better, it happened before. It will pass." Krista wasn't sure if that made her feel better, but she didn't want to force him into telling them what was wrong, but from what she heard, it sounded like something that would eventually happen again.

"Speaking from experience, Jaime, but I know what is like to regret past decisions." Ymir started her arm around his shoulder, bringing him closer to her.

"... Something happened, it feels like a lifetime ago now, but what I learned from that mistake is that I shouldn't let myself tear myself apart over what cannot be changed. I think you should do the same." Ymir spoke softly to him; Jaime took a deep breath, and gave Ymir a side hug.

"Thank you, Ymir. You might have freckles, but you are still beautiful." Krista burst out laughing when Ymir turned bright red while trying desperately to pull him away from her. Despite the laughter, Krista could see in his eyes that whatever hunted him was still there. She wanted to help him in any way possible, but she didn't know what to do, so she did the only thing she could think of: she was there for him.

Tomorrow - Annie

How is he so fast?!! Annie wondered as she kept being on the defensive. She always saw herself as the better between the two when it came to Hand to Hand combat; Jaime could always give her a run for her money; that's why she always enjoyed those training sessions, an opportunity to fight someone worthy and an opportunity to spend time together without anyone being close.

For the whole week, Jaime had completely isolated himself for a whole week; he said that he didn't want to fight. Annie would lie if she said she wasn't concerned, but she wouldn't force him to tell her what was wrong. She knew he would tell her when he was ready.

When she had woken up before the other girls for the morning run, she had walked outside and had found him running laps around the place; from the way he sweated, he looked as if he had been running for hours, but unlike the last week, today he talked with her, instead of lying while running, he told her that he wanted to train today.

When the time came for their training, Jaime showed no mercy; he never did, but today, he was far more precise and faster, and his fist hurt a lot more whenever she needed to block. Annie tried to get in defense, but she couldn't dodge everything.

"What is wrong, Jaime?" She asked as she blocked a fist; she winced in pain, her wrist hurting.

"...Nothing is wrong..." Jaime said amidst heavy breathing; he looked on the brink of falling unconscious; it was to be expected; he hadn't taken a break the whole day.

Annie knew he was lying but decided to buy time. He might have all the stamina he wanted, but she knew he was exhausted. Eventually, he threw another punch, but this time slower. Annie quickly rushed him, using her leg to make his trip; she quickly forced her body weight against his, keeping him under, but she quickly realized that he wasn't really fighting back anymore. Instead, he breathed heavily.

Annie didn't say anything and simply helped him on his feet. Jaime avoided her eyes as he walked past her, sitting on the trunk he always sat on whenever he wanted to draw, but he hadn't taken his art book today. Annie didn't say anything to him; she knew if he wanted to tell her what was wrong, he would, so instead, she sat near him and simply enjoyed the song of nature around them.

Eventually, Jaime broke the silence. "Annie... Thank You." She didn't know why he was thanking her; she did nothing.

"Why?"

"For staying here. I appreciate it." Jaime sounded defeated, his purple eyes suddenly didn't seem as bright as they used to be. Annie felt her cheeks burning, turning pink.

"...If you want to talk about it. I will listen." She offered, hoping he would tell her what was wrong, but he quickly shook his head.

"No. There isn't much to say. Kenny told me once that there's no point crying over spilled milk, and that we should live with our sins. Learn from them, and try to forge a better future. This..." Jaime stopped mid-sentence, looking at his spread hands before his eyes as if he could see something that wasn't there.

"This will pass. The nightmares, not the first, neither the second time. I just didn't expect them to return so soon." Jaime said with a raspy voice as he focused on the river near them. Annie listened to his every word; she wasn't good with words, she never was, but she wanted to help, and if listening to him was all she could do, then she would do that much for him.

One Month Later

"Annie, why are you still trying to stop him from getting close?" She escaped her thoughts upon hearing Mina's voice. They had entered the common bath; Annie was in her own small cabin and washing her body with soap as water rained down on her. It had been mostly quiet until Mina decided to open her mouth. From all the girls in the Training Corps. Mina was the only one Annie considered a friend. Everyone else was just roommates, and Mikasa was her sworn enemy.

"I don't understand what you are saying," Annie said dismissively; the double ponytail girl giggled.

"You and Jaime. Yesterday Reiner asked me if I knew where you were. I found you and Jaime fighting again, but you pulled away from him when you got too close." Mina explained with a cute smile.

Reiner, you little shit, Annie thought, feeling the need to beat him up, but that could wait until she could get away from Mina. "What I do is my own business, Mina. Not yours." Annie said coldly; that kind of voice would have worked with everyone, but not with Mina, who looked at her... almost with pity.

"I'm not telling you how you should live your life, but I don't understand why you keep denying yourself happiness. It's only one more year, and all the opportunities will be gone." Mina said, looking at her like she felt bad for her.

"One year?"

"Annie, everyone knows that Jaime will join the Survey Corps, and you will join the Military Police. You know how dangerous the Survey Corps is; he might be the best one here, but that didn't stop countless soldiers from dying each expedition from the Titans; even the best will eventually die." Annie opened her mouth to say something, but Mina continued. "And it is not just the Survey Corps. Who knows, tomorrow, The Colossal and Armoured Titan might show up in front of Trost, and all of us will die. What I'm trying to say is that life is very short. My father always told me to live my life to the fullest; if you don't, you will regret it. You might try to hide it, Annie; your cold glares might fool people, but I know you care, and we both know what you feel for Jaime is nothing to run away from." Annie remained silent; she could feel the water falling on her body and didn't realize she and Mina were the only ones left.

"What you think I should do?"

"Live a little, Annie. Allow yourself to be Happy. Everyone deserves Happiness, but not everyone sees the opportunity when it is right in front of them; those people live the rest of their lives with Regrets for not taking that opportunity." Annie looked at her friend in silence before walking out of the cabin. She used a towel to dry herself and wore her clothes.

"Thank you, Mina." Annie said as she walked outside.

Annie

"Why so late at night?" Annie asked as they walked towards their special spot in the forest to fight, but instead of doing that during the day. Jaime had wanted to do it after the night had come, much to her suspicion. She didn't think he would attack her, but she wondered if today was a special day. It was, but no one knew besides her father.

"Well?" Annie insisted.

"It's a surprise," Jaime said teasingly with his wide, beautiful smile; she looked at him like she was tired of all the teasing but decided to follow him nonetheless.

"A surprise. In the middle of the night?" Annie couldn't help but ask as they kept walking towards their spot; the full moon brightened up the forest in a silver glow. Jaime didn't answer her this time; he looked at his watch.

"It's still today. So we still have time." Jaime said cryptically. Annie almost stopped in her tracks upon hearing his words; there was only one thing that made sense right now, but how could Jaime know that? She had never told anyone; not even her fellow Warriors knew that information.

Eventually, they reached the clearing, and Annie quickly noticed a small box covered in a piece of clothing with ropes; Jaime unwrapped it and gestured for her to approach him. She did so without question as he turned to face her.

His purple eyes almost glittered under the moonlight like two beautiful gems, and as he opened the box, inside it were a few pieces of cakes, donuts showered in melted chocolate, and other sweets. Annie felt her mouth watering at the sight; she had always loved sweet things, but how did Jaime know that? And why today of all days?

"Happy Birthday. Annie." Jaime said with perhaps the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. Her face turned red, and her heart skipped a beat. She couldn't believe she was having this reaction to something so simple.

"H-how did you know?" Annie asked as she picked a donut; the smell was sweet as they both sat on top of the trunk; this time, she sat close enough that her leg touched his, the contact. It felt good.

"I sneaked inside our dear Instructor's office and found your file." Jaime knew just how creepy and suspicious that act was; his words made Annie narrow her eyes at him.

"The Instructor would have locked your ass if he found out about it." Annie reminded him, knowing she had no compromising information on her file.

"Well, it would have still been worth it, but don't worry, I didn't look at anything else," Jaime reassured her; she knew he was telling the truth, so she allowed herself to enjoy the piece of cake and the donut. She couldn't remember the last time she ate sweets and savored every last bite. As they ate together, she noticed that her hand was on top of his, but she remembered what Mina had told her and what her father had told her.

"Never feel for your enemy. Think of them as bags of flesh and bones. They're your enemy. They have no faces. No feelings. No loved ones are waiting for them. No one cares for bags of flesh and blood. That is what an enemy is."

You were wrong, she thought. They weren't faceless. She always knew that, and she knew she would do anything to return back to her father. But she wanted this with Jaime. The way he smiled, the way he made her happy. She didn't want that to disappear ever.

"You know, at first I wanted to make a party for you, like I did with Ymir."

"Good thing you didn't... I'm not good with parties." Annie said with some relief, knowing it would be very difficult for her to know the people she was supposed to kill had a party for her birthday, something she never had before.

"Did you like them?" Jaime asked, almost impatiently.

"They are sweet, but not too sweet. They are perfect." She said; she could see how proud he looked, and her lips quirked up slightly in an amused smile.

"Annie. I have something to tell you." Jaime suddenly said, his voice changed from warm to serious; she turned to face him, and her heart started beating faster.

"What is it?" Annie asked, thinking it would be difficult for him to say what he had in mind, but instead.

"I like you, Annie. And I mean as more than a friend. I like your beautiful rare smiles, the way you fight, the way you talk, and the way you care for people even if you try to hide it. I like everything about you." His words made her face burn, but she didn't look away from him; her hand sneaked and grasped his. She knew this was what he would say, but she wasn't sure if she should be happy about it.

"Why me? I'm not worth it. I have told you I have done terrible things, and you still want to be with me." Annie lowered her gaze; she had never ever felt like this with anyone; it felt strange to feel so vulnerable.

"I have done bad things, too. Annie. You know that. We all do bad things. When a loved one is involved, the line between right and wrong doesn't exist anymore. I don't know what you did, and I won't force you to tell me, but I know one thing. I still want you. You saved me that day with the Kidnappers. You are the best person I know. If you ever decide to tell me everything, then I promise you that I will try to understand and help you in any way possible." Annie's heart skipped a beat, if possible. She wanted him even more now but remembered everything she had done. Did she deserve happiness?

"Allow yourself to be Happy. Everyone deserves Happiness, but not everyone sees the opportunity when it is right in front of them; those people live the rest of their lives with Regrets for not taking that opportunity."

Annie suddenly felt his arms around her, his head resting on her shoulder. "W-what are you doing?"

"Everyone needs a hug every once in a while." He answered with a teasing smile. She giggled against his shoulder as she hugged him back, his warm body. She didn't want to pull away, but as they did. Their eyes locked, his breath against her face, so she did the only thing she wanted to do at that moment.

With a smile gracing her lips, she reciprocated his words, "I like you, too." As the words lingered in the air. The world around them faded into oblivion as their lips met. In that intimate moment, time stood still. A surge of euphoria washed over her, her heart bursting with a blissful happiness she had never experienced before. Lost in the embrace, a soft moan escaped her lips, a symphony of pleasure and desire. His arms enveloped her middle back. Her fingers instinctively weaved through his hair, savoring the silky strands. The taste of their first kiss lingered on her lips, sweeter than the most decadent cake. As they reluctantly pulled away, a dazed expression adorned her face, her cheeks flushed with a rosy hue, but she didn't shy away this time.

"Wow. That was wonderful." He said, feeling completely overwhelmed; his heart felt like it would burst from his chest.

"Yes." Annie still could feel his lips against her; a part of her wanted to do it again. The pleasure she had felt. But she didn't need to ask, as Jaime kissed her again, this time she jumped on his lap, she giggled as she kept kissing. The second one was somehow better than the first.

But eventually, they needed to breathe; they pulled away from one another, her lips tingling with a wonderful sensation.

"For your birthday. I wrote a song for you. Do you want to hear it?" Annie nodded right away; his voice was wonderful, and she wondered what kind of song he had written for her; as she stood up from his lap, she sat beside him, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Like the scarlet night veiling the dark

You can hide your fear

Can lie, my dear

Keep dreaming

Spread your blood-stained wings

Like a Fallen Angel

Falling and driven by the winds of time

Into the starry night

Like a Goddess, embrace me for eternity

Fly into heaven

What's the lie

What's the truth

What to believe

In my life

See the flowers breathing in the rain

Try growing to the edge of light

It's so far away to reach out to the sky

I'll seize, I'll seize the roses with my wings

We'll fly

Like a Fallen Angel

Falling and driven by the winds of time

Into the starry night

Like a Goddess, embrace me for eternity

We'll fly away

We'll find a way

You can hide your fear

Can lie, my dear

We'll see the end

We'll be the end

Embrace me for eternity

Fly into heaven

I'll protect you."