Upon getting into the truck, Armin sat down, leaning against the wall with a quiet yawn. He gazed contemplatively out of the side window, showing dark sky, as they took flight.

{Once in the air, Dianne takes off her armor and sits on her bedding.}

Dianne: "Hey, Armin...Would you be willing to give me one last back rub for the trip?"

'I'd be happy to,' Armin replied as he took off his shoes and jacket. 'Go get comfortable.'

Esme crawled on top of their bed, curling up somewhere at the back end and wrapping her tail around herself.

{Dianne nods and lies on her front, resting her head on her arms.}

Armin shifted over to her, careful to avoid Esme as she dozed behind him. He started to massage her back with both hands, closing his eyes and enjoying the peaceful atmosphere as the truck rolled beneath them.

{Dianne closes her eyes in a contented expression, sighing softly.}

Dianne: "Thanks....might ask for these back home.....on occasion..."

Armin gave a soft chuckle. 'Feel free to ask. I don't mind. HeII, you need some way of relaxing.'

Dianne: "....What's that......supposed to mean?......"

{At this point, Dianne was quite relaxed and begining to doze.}

'Just that, between looking after Esme and dealing with the people trying to kill you, you probably have a lot to stress about,' Armin observed. 'Important to be able to relax between all of that.'

He wasn't sure if she was alert enough to pay attention, but he talked anyway, while continuing to rub her back soothingly.

Dianne: "....Mmm....True enough...."

{She falls silent after that, seemingly dozing off entirely.}

Armin continued for a while to make sure she was fully asleep. While doing so, he cast a wistful glance around the dark truck.

//...Strange how much this dingy metal box had begun to feel like home...//

Eventually, with a yawn, he quietly climbed under the blankets. Looking forward to a peaceful night's sleep, he snuggled close to Dianne and loosely slung an arm across her back. He quickly dozed off while Esme snored gently a few feet away.

....

{The next morning, Dianne awoke gently, feeling completely at ease. She looks around the truck slowly.}

Dianne: //We'll be arriving home today. I hope there won't be any surprises.//

Esme was lying curled up at the end of the bed, with her rock clutched to her chest, as if it were a plush toy.

Armin was also still asleep; it was rare for him to wake up before Dianne. He was breathing slowly and looked comfortable. One of his arms was still partially draped across her.

{Dianne smiles at the pair. Reaching for her bag in the corner, she pulls out her phone and texts everyone back home.}

<<We'll be arriving home this evening. Meet us outside my house around six pm.>>

Fred didn't read or reply to the message; apparently it was too early for him to be up yet. The phone informed Dianne that Rex - who Armin had added to their contacts - had read it but not replied.

Ivy just responded with: <K.>

{Jerry replied with:}

<<Ok, we'll be there. Everything looks clear from here.>>

{With that, Dianne puts the phone down and settles back in to sleep.}

After a while, Armin opened his eyes slightly. Seeing that it was only morning, he didn't feel very inclined to get up yet. //Especially since this is the last time I'll wake up like this... may as well make the most of it.//

He shifted slightly and let out a yawn. At the end of the bed, Esme was still snoozing.

{At this point, Dianne had fallen back to sleep. She snuggled a little closer to Armin before settling again.}

Armin looked at her, smiling faintly. //Glad Esme's still asleep, so she won't come and disturb us.// He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her slightly closer, closing his eyes with a long breath. He stayed awake, but relaxed as he waited for her to wake up.

{A little while later, Dianne opened her eyes again. Seeing Armin and feeling herself under his arm, she just smiles.}

Dianne: "Morning, Armin."

'Morning...' said Armin drowsily, briefly tightening his arm around her. He opened his eyes to glance at her, then closed them again, having no intention of going anywhere yet. It was warm and comfortable, and still relatively early in the day.

{Dianne sighs contentedl, closing her eyes.}

Dianne: "Armin...can I ask you something serious...and slightly personal?..."

'...Go ahead...' he replied, slightly wary, but too comfortable and relaxed to care much what she might ask.

Dianne: "Just how close to me...do you want to get?..."

'...In what way?' he said, very cautiously. 'Physically, or emotionally...?'

Dianne: "Either...both...I just want to know what exactly this...relationship, I suppose, is."

'Now? We're friends. Close friends,' he said. 'If you like things the way they are, then that's all it needs to be. As for how close I'd want to get... I don't really want to answer that, without knowing what your response to the same question would be.'

{Dianne smiles at Armin.}

Dianne: "I like the way things are. But, I'd also like to know what you think. Ok, you answer the question, and I'll tell you my honest feelings on the matter."

He sighed. 'That's not fair. You won't like the answer.' He took a moment to collect his thoughts before responding.

'...When I look at you, me, and Esme, I can imagine us as a family. I like the idea of us all living together, permanently. I like the idea of waking up next to you every morning. I like the idea of... essentially, being what Ivy suspects we are... So if the question was 'how close would I be willing to get', then the answer is that I don't have a limit.'

{Dianne's eyes widen, blushing in a surprised expression.}

Dianne: "Oh....I....Wow.....You....you're saying that you love me?...."

{She stops for a moment to consider her next words.}

Dianne: "I cannot deny...I...I have given this some thought....Well....yes. I think a union between us would be...beneficial to us all. I don't mind having the company, to be honest..."

(
Barnabas: 0o0
Lucci: ;)
)

Armin smiled faintly, seeming both highly relieved and a little amused by her reaction. He also looked a bit stunned, as if this were the last thing he'd expected.

'Yes, I do love you. I've known for a while, but... given your history, I never thought you'd be into the idea. I was grateful enough just to be friends.' He mulled over this for a second. 'So... if I'm interpreting that correctly... you're actually alright with the idea? Never actually thought you were interested in me.'

(Ivy: ;))))
)

{Dianne smiles and laughs. Not an amused laugh, not a nervous laugh, a genuinely happy laugh.}

Dianne: "Well...Of course I'm alright with the idea. Yeah, I'm generally very cautious of relationships, but...I don't know, you're...different. You saved my life, you care about me...Yeah, I like the idea...What's the expression, third time's the charm?"

(
Death's Aspect:
.......Heh....heh......nOw........dOn'T.....fAIl....MmmEeeEeee.....)

(*squints at the aspect*)

Armin chuckled quietly in response, seeming a little unsure what to say. He tightened his arm around her. 'Well... this isn't how I expected things to go, but... I'm more than happy with it.'

Dianne: "Were you expecting me to lose it, and tear your arms off?

{She asks innocently.}

(Paxton: "Ring-a-ding-ding! Just a reminder that you might want to consider what we're doing before making a big 'ol commitment like that...." :/ )

'I'm not sure if that's /exactly/ what I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting anything... good.'

Armin lifted his head slightly so he could see Esme. She was still dozing. He settled back down comfortably, still reeling a little over the turn of events.

(Armin: Paxton, no offence, but we're going to slaughter and bury you. Get lost.)

Dianne: "I could tell. You seemed very nervous through the whole thing. How do you think everyone back home is going to...react?"

(Paxton: "And with that, I'll take my leave. Cheerio!"

Barnabas: "Really, Dianne, this guy? He's a loser with no prospects. How's he going to contribute to a family while /unemployed/?"

'I have no idea, honestly,' said Armin. 'All I can say is that Ivy and Rex will probably figure it out the moment they see us. Ivy... well, you know how she is. And Rex knows me too well to not pick up on it. But as for how everyone will react, I don't know.'

(Armin: We're pretty much rolling in money right now... That's probably the least of our concerns.)

(Barnabas: "So, you're just going to be a layabout, leeching off of her wealth? Oh, yeah, that's soooo husbando material.")

{Dianne just smiles, settling in.}

Dianne: "We'll, Ivy can suck it. Rex, I'm sure he'll come around. The one that troubles me is Fred. But, I suppose it doesn't matter. We'll find out in a few hours."

'Fred... I hadn't given much thought as to how he'll react,' Armin mused, closing his eyes. 'It doesn't concern me too much. He's not the type to freak out. Well... on the outside, at least. Not sure what's going through his mind most of the time.'

Dianne: "Well, he is your son. He does seem the calm type, so I'm sure he'll be ok...Well...we don't have to do much until we get home so...no real reason to get up..."

'Well, Esme will probably come and bother us for food soon,' Armin observed. 'But... she's not right now... so let's just stay here.'

He settled himself into a comfortable position, slowly and absent-mindedly running a hand up and down her back.

{Dianne closes her eyes, soothed by the feeling of Armin's hand on her back. She shifts closer to him, putting her forehead against his chest.}

Armin slowly drifted off into a light doze, his breathing becoming slow and deep while his hand went still. He seemed content just to rest, his mind still trying to process what had just happened.

(Do we skip?)

(Yep, maybe we skip to later in the day, a while before they arrive?)

(Ok, I'll start.)

{Several hours later, Dianne was up. She was sitting in the driver's seat, in full armor, and listening to the radio.}

Armin was sitting in the front passenger seat, gazing out of the window. There was an air of barely-contained eagerness about him, as he contemplated finally seeing their home again.

Esme was in the back, playing with the core of an apple she'd eaten earlier, unaware of where they were heading.

{Dianne glances over at Armin quizzically.}

Dianne: "You seem restless. You ok?"

'Yes. Just thinking about home. It's a simple thing, but it's kinda nice just to see your own house after weeks away.'

Armin then glanced over, eyeing her curiously.

'What do you need all that armour for? We're not doing any fighting the moment we get home, are we?'

Dianne: "Ah, ok. I get that. The armor is just in case Paxton's goons are waiting for us. I don't want to catch a bullet the second I step out of the car."

'Oh, yeah. We'd better be careful when we bring Esme out, too, then, if you think there's a chance they might be waiting for us.'

Dianne: "Yeah. I'm going to step out first. If their there, they'll shoot at me and not Esme. Then, once they reveal their position, Titan can mop up."

'Hmm... I hope your armour is good at deflecting bullets, then. I'd kinda prefer if we didn't have a repeat of the Agamidae museum incident.'

Dianne: "Yeah, it should work out. In Agamidae, they shot my leg in an unarmored area. The bullet that hit the plating was stopped. This set has thicker plating, so it should work better."

'Alright,' said Armin. 'You'd better be right.' He returned to gazing out the window, watching the hills and woods fly past.

Dianne: "I'll be ok. Trust me."

{She also returns her gaze to the passing scenery. They were already in Vallis at this point, so most of the terrain was familliar.}

Dianne: "I think we'll be able to see Shacklestone's ruins in the distance soon."

'Yeah. Over that way, somewhere.' Armin pointed vaguely in the direction he thought Shacklestone to be, using the shape of the land as a reference. 'And then Sovereign City will be all the way down south. Nice that this isn't a big country; it means we'll be back sooner.'

Dianne: "Hey, you know that secret hideout you have in the middle of the forest? Do you, like, own that building, or are you just squatting there?"

'The little forest house?' he said thoughtfully. 'Well, I don't own it /legitimately./ I have no idea who it belonged to before I stumbled across it, but it was definitely abandoned. I think it might have been a farmhouse at one point... But it's a mystery where the inhabitants went. I found it while travelling between Riverside and Shacklestone a long time ago.'

Dianne: "Well, if it all goes to sh!t in Soverign, that will have to be a fallback point. I pray it doesn't come to that..."

'It won't come to that,' said Armin. 'There's no reason why it would. I think we've got the advantage here, even if we're outnumbered by the hunters.'

Dianne: "True. Still, it's good to make a backup plan."

{With that, she falls silent, contemplating the future and what it may hold.}

Armin leaned back in his seat, watching the scenery and entertaining himself by trying to recognise small landmarks. There wasn't much else to do before Sovereign came into sight.

(Dianne's got one last thing to discuss, then we'll cut to the landing.)

{Suddenly realizing something, Dianne turns to Armin.}

Dianne: "So....About our whole....professing our love for one another....Does that mean you want to get married?"

Armin blinked, and turned his head slightly so he could look at her sideways. He took a moment to compose an answer.

'Well... yeah, I guess I do, eventually. I just hadn't thought about it yet. I mean, I literally didn't even know you were interested in me until about five hours ago.'

Dianne: "Hey, you're the one who said, "permanently"."

{She says chuckling.}

Dianne: "In any event, should that happen, we should do it /after/ this whole hunter debaucle. If we get engaged too soon, that's a huge target on your back. I don't want to needlessly put you in danger."

'They already seem to know I'm in league with you, so I don't think it makes much of a difference,' Armin mused. 'But I agree, if maybe not for the same reasons... I don't really want to do that while we have psychopathic hunters breathing down our necks. Let's think about it after everything's settled down and we've got some peace to enjoy.'

Dianne: "Agreed. Let's focus on the task at hand first."

(I think I'll skip now.)

(Alright!)

....

{A few hours later, the group was approaching Soverign city. Jerry and Pythia were waiting in Dianne's front yard, watching the silhouette aproach. Jerry had his rifle slung across his back.}

Jerry: "There they are..."

As the pair waited, Ivy came sauntering over to stand beside Jerry. She was holding a revolver loosely at her side, looking like she didn't expect to need it. Her expression was pensive as she gazed up at Titan's huge silhouette.

'What on earth is that?' she asked. 'I get the hydra part, but what's it carrying?'

'A military truck,' replied a low, slightly raspy voice. Rex had entered the yard, looking up as well. 'They decided to fly home in it, to be faster.'

(I'll post a new room, this one got full fast.)