[She allows it.

[Aubrey falls apart. She throws an arm around him, the other still tight and shaking around Eren, and leans into Armin as she sobs.

[Her heart aches. This outpouring of love… god, for all she’s been told otherwise, she still feels like she doesn’t deserve it. But she takes it, clings to it like a lifeline, drowns herself in it. What else is she supposed to do? She cares for them terribly—Eren Jaeger, Armin Arlert; everyone else she’s searched for here; and everyone this world has made her leave behind. And there’s so many…

[Fuck! She misses them! She misses her new friends who she never let in, promised she’d see tomorrow. She misses Sunny’s soft stare, how he swung as she talked to the point where she wasn’t sure if he was listening or not anymore, but it was okay, because he was outside and she could talk to him again. She misses Hero’s cheery optimism, the way his young adult dorkishness always shone through no matter how much he grew up, the stupid winks and assurances that said he had it all figured out when none of them really did. She misses Kel’s jokes and gags and teases, fumbling over himself to make a point, forgetting what’s important sometimes but always bouncing back; how he was so, so sure they’d be together, this time. She misses Mari’s song. She misses Basil. Basil, Basil, Basil, Basil, Basil.]

I’m sorry. [They’re in his house, and it’s empty.] I’m sorry....

[She lost him long before he died.]