AN: It's Aruani Week on tumblr, and as a diehard fan of this ship, I think it's only right that I participate in it. Anyway, I don't actually know how this works, but I'm following the prompts given on tumblr. Whether it's Aruani week or not, it would always be a joy to write about these two.

Disclaimer: I do not own Attack on Titan.

Day 1 - Eyes

Her breath hitched the first time she saw them — those round, blue eyes that looked like small pools of water. She drowned in those eyes once in the past, and now she found herself drowning in them again. If this is what drowning felt like, she thought, then I wouldn't mind settling into the bottom of the ocean. And that was exactly what those eyes seemed like: a clear and fathomless ocean.

Annie wanted those eyes to see everything that was beautiful in the world: the purple flowers growing in the meadow near their home; the small birds that settled on the windowsill; the warm smile of her husband whenever he came home. She promised herself that she would protect those eyes from anything ugly and unpleasant, a task that was both hard and seemingly impossible.

They gave her a name: Aria. Armin had told her that it meant air. Annie was pleased with it — she couldn't see the air, but somehow in her mind, it was blue, exactly like the color of Aria's eyes.

Her eyes were wide and curious as her father read to her. Annie watched them, amazed at how two people could look so alike. Aria had inherited her father's sunshine hair and round face, along with his big, blue eyes. If Annie were asked to sum up her entire life, she would have said that it contained two chapters, and that both started with blue eyes. The first part began when she first caught a glimpse of Armin's eyes across the mess hall, and the second one started when Aria's eyes fluttered open when she gave birth to her.

She was crying. Angry tears rolled down her eyes as Annie held her. Annie's heart ached in seeing her daughter cry over something she had done. Words like "monster", "murderer", and "Titan" rang through Aria's mind, words people had associated with her mother, and it brought a fresh batch of tears rolling down her cheeks. Annie gazed at her daughter's eyes, which now knew sadness and hurt.

She was beautiful. Everyone said so. She had long, golden hair that bounced when she walked, and her blue eyes — they were sparkling like water being hit by sunlight. Her father always tended to brag about her, much to his comrades amusement. Annie was pleased; their Aria was all grown up. She was lovely, like a princess, and Annie had another urge to shield her away from the nasty things in life. A princess must always be happy, after all.

Aria's eyes were filled with defiance as she expressed her desire to become a soldier. Annie shook her head, pleading her not to enlist in the military, but she was not going to be dissuaded. Annie remembered crying that night, as she begged her husband not to let their daughter go, but he smiled at her and promised to protect Aria at all costs. She believed him — she always believed those blue eyes of his. Aria left for training, and Annie prayed every night for her to come home.

She was smiling widely as she showed her parents the cloak etched with the Survey Corps insignia. Aria clasped it around her body, standing proudly next to her father, who wore the same uniform. Her eyes were alive with triumph and excitement; she was following on her father's footsteps, and nothing could please her more. Annie gave her an approving nod, and she watched as she left the gates with her father.

The spark was gone from her eyes. Aria had a sunken look on her face; it was the look that came with watching your friends die. Annie bowed, grateful that her daughter was alive, but her head snapped up when she saw tears flowing down Aria's face. Annie took her in her arms, the same way she used to back when she was still a small child. But Aria's eyes remained glassy as she presented Annie what was left of her father — a tattered Survey Corps patch. Annie's vision blurred, and she knew no more.

Aria's eyes were filled with light. It was the light that came with finding your other half. She walked down the aisle, hand in hand with her Uncle Eren, who stood for her father. Annie smiled slightly, thinking back to her own wedding, and she imagined Armin's blue eyes as he said, "I do." She clenched her fists, and she watched as Eren handed Aria over to her groom, an act Armin should be doing had he been alive.

Annie was reaching the last of her days. She lay in bed as Aria walked up to her, holding a bundle in her arms. She showed the baby to her mother, and Annie gave its small hand a squeeze. Her grandchild opened its eyes, and for the third time in her life, Annie was met with wide, blue eyes. Aria had named him Armin, after her father. Annie nodded, and with one last breath, closes her tired eyes.