Title: Under the Oak Tree (Alt: The Girl With The Red Ribbon)
Series: Shingeki No Kyojin
Pairing: AruAnnie
Rating: T
Words: 1,719
Armin once met a girl with a mysterious red ribbon, always encircled around her neck, Curious as to what lies under the Ribbon, Armin befriends the girl, and as the two grow closer, the mystery behind it grows deeper
(Inspired By The story "The green ribbon" In the book "Scary stories to tell in the dark", I suggest you read this first though, as to not spoil the story uwu)
May 21st, 2003
A 5 year old Armin Arlelt sat alone hiding in the branches of the big oak tree in the school yard, It was the first time in the entire school year that his only two friends Eren Jaeger and Mikasa Ackerman were both absent on the same day. This ultimately left him susceptible to the bullies who didn't even relent when Eren and Mikasa were around.
A rustling down below snapped Armin out of his thoughts, peering below to check just who it was, and if he should run or not, He noticed the Blonde girl from the back of the classroom who never spoke, but always wore a Red Ribbon around her neck.
Feeling curious, he came down from the tree and sat down next to her, saying a friendly "Hello"
The girl turned towards him, her blue eyes seemingly looking right past him, and merely nodded her head, then quickly looked down to her hands that were tracing random patterns into the dirt under them.
Prodding a little more Armin spoke up once again "My name is Armin Arlelt, whats yours?"
Without looking up, the girl muttered "Annie Leonhardt"
Suprised that he managed to get a word out of her, he ventured further, with questions like "What are you doing, Do you like drawing, How old are you, What do you like to do?". And Annie replied to each one, never saying more than a few words each time.
They ended up spending the entire hour of recess together, Armin trying to befriend the mysterious girl with the red ribbon. As they stood up to leave Armin asked one more question "Why do you always wear that red ribbon around your neck?"
Much to Armin's suprise, Annie chuckled, turned towards him and said "One day, I will tell you, I promise" before turning and walking away
Armin stood shock-still for a couple of seconds, Before running to catch up with Annie
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December 31st, 2013
Armin and Annie clicked that one day under the Oak Tree, and have not gone a day without speaking to each other ever since. So it was only natural that 7 days before, Armin, blushing and stuttering his way through the entire sentence, Asked Annie on a date for the next week. And it was only natural that Annie whose cheeks matched the color of the ribbon around her neck, Said yes.
Hands intertwined, the couple walked back to the place where they first met, and sat down under the oak tree. Talking about sweet nothings through the whole night out.
Though Armin soon found himself growing curious once more, and a question he repressed for 10 years resurfaced once more. Armin hesitantly spoke up "Annie, ten years ago you promised you'd tell me why you wear the ribbon around your neck, Can you tell me now?"
Annie smiled, and her cheeks turning a light shade of pink suggested "One day in the future, If we ever get married, then I will tell you".
Then she hesitantly leaned over and kissed the blonde boy, Under the oak tree.
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July 14th, 2025
The girl who always wore the red ribbon And the boy who loved her no matter what had gotten engaged the minute they both graduated highschool, And had gotten married when they had both left college and gotten jobs.
The wedding was beautiful, and the reception was grand, but under the white choker that the bride wore lay a Red Ribbon, tightly wound around the woman's neck. And later that night, the bride donned everything except for the Red Ribbon.
As the newlywed couple lay in bed, Armin piped up, a curiosity rising in his mind "Annie, why didn't you take off your ribbon?"
Annie pecked his cheek and replied "How about this, I'll let you know when we have children"
Armin chuckled "Alright, alright, when we have kids"
And with the Woman who completed him in his arms, he drifted to sleep.
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November 3rd, 2046
Annie and Armin, both 48 years of age, collapsed on the couch, both tired from helping their child move out.
"He grew up fast, he's already 21 years old" Annie chuckled "We're not trying again after this"
"We wouldn't be able to anyway" Armin laughed "I'm a bit too old for that anyway"
Annie rubbed at the back of her neck, where the knot of the red ribbon stood tight. As Armin watched, he spoke before he thought "Annie, when we first met you promised that one day you'd tell me, on our first date you said when we got married you'd tell, on our wedding day you told me 'when we have children', and now that our child has grown up and left the house" He held both of her hands in his and looked into her eyes "I want you to tell me"
Armin expected a laugh, or a smile, or a sigh, or maybe she would even tell him. What he didn't expect was to see his wife of 21 years burst into tears and rip her hands out of his grasp. It was the first time in a decade he had seen Annie cry, and he had no idea what to do, or say. So he settled on a short "Annie...I'm sorry"
Silence stretched for a minute that felt like a millennium to the Man, but Annie finally turned around, and wiping the tears from her face, spoke one sentence in a clipped tone that sounded too familiar to the one she used when they had first met. "Armin, Do you love me"
He answered without missing a beat "Of course I do"
The next question came within seconds "Do you value our time together" and the reply just as quick "Yes, I do"
And the final question was "Do you want to grow old together?". To which the reply was "I want to stay with you forever"
Annie stood up. "Then you have to leave this question alone, No matter how much you want to ask, don't. Because the next time you do, I will end up believing you've grown tired of me. Then, I will give you the answer you've been waiting for, I just can't guarantee you will like it"
Annie then walked to the bedroom, leaving Armin alone on the couch
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May 11th, 2079
A loud crash coming from the first floor of their house woke Armin up, turning his head to the side he noticed that the space where Annie should be was empty.
Feeling his blood run cold, he shot out of bed and went as fast as his body could carry him downstairs. Only to come across a sight he never wanted to see, His beautiful wife, lying on the floor, her breathing shallow and her skin pale, only making the Red Ribbon around her neck stand out more.
He quickly dialed 911 and within minutes, the Ambulance was there, escorting both of them to the hospital nearby
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May 21st, 2079
Ten days since Annie has been hospitalized, three days since he was told that Annie was dying, 6 hours since he was told she would have to be taken off life support at sundown, 30 minutes until that would happen.
Armin had to be strong, for the one person he loved more than anything in the world, For Annie. He stayed by her side every moment she was in the hospital, meals had to be brought to her hospital room, and as bad as he felt, he needed to be by her side. He would not cry, no, he would hold back until later. He refused to waste his last moments in the hour of her death.
"Armin" Annie called, "Do you know what day it is"
"Yes" he replied, "How could I possibly forget?"
Annie smiled "Then you have to remember, that I made a promise. And I always keep promises"
Armin's eyes grew wide. "Annie..No! You can't mean-"
Annie cut him off. "Yes, I do. Years ago I said that you asking me again meant you would not love me anymore, but I did not say that applied to me telling you. And I know that you still love me, Because you haven't asked since that day". Annie grabbed his shaking hands and kissed them both, before guiding them to the back of her neck. "Armin, There are so many things that I want to tell you, but saying all of that would take years, and I don't have that kind of time left anymore. So I will feed your curiosity. Untie the Ribbon, but first, Please kiss me one last time"
And so he did, He leaned forward and captured her lips with his, And he poured out all the love and longing he has had for her all these years. It felt the same as their first, but it held some sort of beautiful finality to it.
Armin pulled away and looked into her eyes and smiled.
He pulled the knot loose, and her head tumbled to the floor
May 21st, 2079
Soon after, the doctors heard a scream and rushed to the room. But it was all too late.
They found the couple that brimmed with love, both dead in the room.
The mans cause of death to be cardiac arrest and shock
And the woman? Her head, lying on the floor.
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? ?, ?
Armin opened his eyes, to find leaves and branches above him. He realized a moment later that he was lying on a thick branch of a tree. He clambered down, afraid that the branch would be too big to support his 15 year old body.
As he hit the ground and stood up, he looked around, only to find a radiant sight before him. Annie Leonhardt. Suddenly everything came rushing back, and He was in Her arms before he could even think to move.
Annie spoke first "I'm sorry, but now you know why I couldn't tell you, I did not want to end up leaving you without living my life, and I never got to say it before, But thank you. You gave me love, children, everything I wanted, and I did not want to leave you until I was sure that there was no time left, I love you"
"Annie..." He choked, unable to hold back the tears. His eyes unwillingly traveled to her neck, only to find...nothing. No scars, no blemishes, no ribbon. And her head was still intact. "Where..."
Annie smiled and gestured down to both of their hands, where a Red Ribbon was tied around both of their wrists, one end on Armin, the other on Annie.
How did I do? I originally wanted to write this for Jeanmarco but i'm sitting on like 8 other ideas for them at the moment wowie
This is also on my tumblr
post/69340359078/under-the-oak-tree-aruani