Author's Note: Good Day Readers! I wanted to inform you of some very important things real quick before the story starts just so you all know what you are getting yourselves into.

This is a romance story, with a bit of adventure, featuring our favorite blonde Armin Arlert and an OC of my creation. I noticed there aren't very many stories like this out there where Armin gets some love, besides the Armin x Annie stories (which, of the ones I've read, are very good!), and there are some good Armin stories that just haven't updated in like a year or more! I have become inspired to write my own to hold me over until Armin comes back in season 2 of the anime. Let's see how this goes!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) or any of its characters and themes!

Chapter 1: The Journey

The wooden wheels on the old, travel worn wagon creaked and groaned along the uneven stone path. The small blonde headed boy currently riding in the back of the wagon was jostled from time to time, but he didn't mind. Each time the wagon bounced and jarred him from his comfortable spot he suddenly remembered to look up from the book he was so engrossed in and pay attention to the new world around him. His bright blue eyes peeked over the rim of the cart and he watched the towering gate of Wall Sina slowly steadily creep closer and grow larger.

There were plenty of other things to look at too besides the ever present wall that spanned the horizon. He had never left home before, and every little thing captured his imagination. The people and houses were different somehow than they were back home. He was young and still didn't understand some things about the world he lived in, but he could tell just by looking that the inhabitants of Wall Rose looked like they had much nicer things and dressed a little nicer than the people he was used to seeing where he lived within Wall Maria in Shiganshina District. His mother had told him it would be like that, but that he shouldn't be envious of anyone. He should always be proud of where he came from no matter what. The boy couldn't help but wonder what it would be like behind Wall Sina, especially since the people in Wall Rose already looked so different.

The wagon bounced again and he eagerly jumped back up to see if they had gotten any closer. To his delight it looked like they had; the wall loomed even larger than before and he could make out the guards at the gate. The large toothed gate with the profile of a woman so elegantly etched into its surface was open and there were already a few wagons pulled by horses ahead of their own entering the gate. He got up on his knees and leaned out of the side for an even closer view, excitement lighting up his face. He had never traveled so far before! What an adventure he had been on, and it was far from over!

"Armin! Sit back down at once, dear. I don't want you falling out of the wagon," his mother scolded.

He reluctantly slouched back down, but still kept his eyes peeking over the wagon sides. He didn't want to miss a moment of crossing under the gate. Pretty soon they were right up under it and he raised his head up as high as he could to try and see the top. They passed through after his father spoke shortly with the guards. A few of the guards wore red roses on their uniform jackets, and a few others had a green colored horse with a horn coming out of its forehead on their jackets. Armin knew the creature was called a "unicorn" from one of the stories he had read. He also knew they didn't exist, though he wished they did; he'd love to see a unicorn.

His mother finally made him sit back down and he picked up the book he had been reading and examined it fondly, stroking the soft leather cover. It was one of his favorite and one of the few he had access too, but there was another book that his parents owned that he liked even more than this one. It was a secret book and he wasn't allowed to tell anyone about it, but he didn't really understand why. It was amazing and he was sure everyone in the world should see it. His parents had let him look at it a little, and what he had seen had astounded him. It was all about the world outside the Walls; way, way outside the walls. It was because of this book he wanted to see it, see the world outside. He vowed to himself that one day he would. First he needed to find a friend to go see it with him.

The wagon made its way down the crowded streets within Wall Sina and Armin eagerly gazed at all the new sights and smelled the new scents. It was even more different and unique than he could have imagined. The people here wore the strangest clothes with so many colors and decorations, like frills and baubles. Everyone was bustling and buying and it wasn't anywhere close to the slower and steadier life back home. They were buying such frivolous things too! Things like decorations for the house and extra sets of clothes in all different colors. His family spent the majority of their money on essentials like food and fuel. What little they had left over they saved for a harder year, and sometimes purchased a new book from the traders who came through town.

Eventually the wagon moved through the district and went through another equally impressive gate to arrive in Mitras, the inner most portion of Wall Sina. The tired old wagon moaned through the streets of the capitol city until it finally stopped its long and tired journey in front of a grand and ancient looking building with many pillars in the front, holding it up to the sky. Armin glanced at his mother, hoping to get the go ahead to get out of the wagon. They had been traveling all day to reach the Mitras Library by nightfall and he was ready to stretch his legs after the long ride. His mother nodded and he scrambled over the side, not wanting to wait for his father to lower the tail gate. While his father tied the horses to a post in front of the library, Armin let his eyes travel all over the magnificent building, taking in every detail so that he wouldn't forget it and greedily anticipating the sheer amount of books that he hoped to enjoy inside. This was the peak of their journey! The long awaited reward at the end of the quest! Armin wanted to rush forward and take a look right away, but he knew he should wait for his parents and didn't want to be rude by barging in to a place such as this.

A man suddenly appeared on the steps of the library. He stood there for a minute, taking in the scene below him, and then suddenly rushed forwards and approached Armin's father.

"Gerald! Please, don't leave the horses and wagon right there in the street. Come, follow me and I'll show you where you can put them," the strange man said and clapped Armin's father on the shoulder. "Stella!" he then called towards the building and a small woman emerged at the sound of her name. "The Arlert's have arrived! Could you please take Mrs. Arlert and her son inside? I'll be right there."

"Oh, yes of course. Marie, please come this way. Oh, is this your son, Armin! My I haven't seen him since he was a baby," the woman named Stella exclaimed as she came down the stairs and took Armin's mother by the hand in greeting. Armin immediately took refuge behind his mother's skirt as soon as the strange woman began gushing over him. He had always been a little shy around strangers.

"Yes, Stella, this is Armin. Armin, say hello to Miss Stella. She's one of me and your dad's oldest friends that I told you about on the way," his mother encouraged.

"Hello," the blonde boy said shyly and his face turned a little pink with embarrassment.

"Aww he's adorable, Marie. Well, come, let's go inside. I'm sure my girl is wandering around in there somewhere and it's about time they met. Now, tell me all about your trip here. It must have been tedious," Stella was saying to his mother as they walked into the enormous library.

Armin soon drowned out their words when his breath caught in his throat at the site of so many books together in one room. The library was tall on the outside for a good reason. Inside every wall was lined to the ceiling with books of all shapes and colors. Towards the middle of the room were nothing but even more shelves filled with even more books. At the very center were a few tables and chairs for readers to sit in and to the far side of the room was an extravagant wooden desk, probably used for record keeping and to keep track of the books that had were being loaned out. The feel of the room was warm and friendly, and of course, his nose was overwhelmed with the wonderful smell of leather, parchment, and glue.

Armin soon lost track of his mother as he moved towards the shelves, gazing up at how tall they were and at the interesting looking books that lined them. His small hand ran softly against the leather bindings of the books along the bottom shelves, the only ones he could reach due to his short stature. His wide blue eyes glistened in wonder and his jaw was slightly opened as he stared and walked along the long wooden shelves. It was so much more than he had imagined. Where on earth would he even begin to start reading? Out of so many choices, which would he choose first? Maybe they had books like the secret book his parents owned. That would certainly make a good beginning. He knew the reason his parents had made the long journey to Wall Sina, besides to visit their long estranged friends John and Stella Haize, was to show the two librarians the secret book about the outside world and to ask them questions about it. Maybe that meant there were more books here just like it and the Haize's knew more about the outside world because they had read them all. That's why his parents had wanted to come; they must have wanted to know more.

Excitedly, Armin began scanning the multitude of bindings with a purpose for anything that looked similar to the book about the outside world. He walked along the shelves faster, his eyes glued to the book titles, moving up and down and back and forth. He was so focused on his task that he didn't notice a small figure moving rapidly in his direction until it was too late. The two collided hard and Armin found himself on the floor, rubbing his backside where he had hit the ground, across from a young girl in the same predicament. She had had a stack of books in her hands and had obviously not been able to see where she was going. The books where now scattered around the two of them on the floor.

"Ow," he heard her say in a quiet voice, and he look up to see just who it was he had bumped into.

That moment was the first time he saw her and that his eyes met with hers. In the days to come, he knew deep down that he'd never forget it. Her eyes were a startling sky blue and they had a depth to them like he had never seen. Darker colors of blue lined the outside of her sky blue irises, and made her eyes look like he'd imagined the sea would look from the book about the outside world. Her pale colored face was framed with slightly wavy honey blonde hair, a few shades darker than his own yellow blonde, and she had a small upturned button nose in the middle of her rounded face. The two must have been staring at each other for longer than necessary because suddenly she blushed in embarrassment, red color rushing onto her pale cheeks, and turned her eyes quickly away from his. Her eyes then fell on the books scattered on the floor and she began to busy herself with picking them up.

Armin mentally shook himself and moved over to help her, which only seemed to make her even more nervous and her hands shook slightly as the two of them stacked the books into a pile on the floor. "Sorry I bumped into you and made you drop your books," he apologized softly when they had finished sorting the books.

Her eyes snapped up to his again at his apology and she gave him a small timid smile. "That's okay, I probably should have been looking where I was going," she replied just as quietly.

They stood up from the ground and Armin noticed she was probably around his age even though she was a little taller than he was. "I didn't realize there were still people here at the library. It's kind of late, don't you think?" the girls asked him curiously.

"Oh, um, I-I'm here with my parents. They're friends with Mr. and Mrs. Haize the librarians here. We just arrived," he explained, tripping over some of his words.

"Oh," she said, "Well is there anything I can help you find, sir?" Her voice and demeanor had suddenly shifted into helpful librarian mode and a serious professional look came into her eyes like she was doing her job by asking him if he needed help.

"Well," he said thoughtfully, "I was looking to see if there were any books about the outside world in this library." He assumed, due to her sudden mood switch, that she must know more about the library than he did, and since she didn't seem to want to say anything else about herself at the moment, he thought he might as well ask about the books he had been searching for. In reality though, he was suddenly just as curious about her as he was about the books.

"The outside world?" her face became confused as she thought about his request. "I'm not sure that I know—"

"There you are, darling! And you've found Armin too, what luck!" the two children snapped their heads towards the sound of Mrs. Haize coming towards them with Armin's mother in tow.

"Tori, darling, I'm sure you just met, but this is my good friend Mrs. Arlert's son, Armin Arlert," Stella Haize told her daughter as soon as the two women had reached the pair. "Armin, this is my daughter Victoria, but we all just call her Tori for short."

"Oh, hello, nice to meet you," Armin said holding out his hand to shake hers like he'd been taught when meeting new people.

"You too," Tori smiled and accepted his hand shake.

"And, of course, this is his mother, Miss Marie."

"Nice to meet you, Tori. I hope Armin hasn't been bothering you," Marie said.

"No he wasn't," the girl replied. Armin noticed she seemed to share his dilemma at meeting new people when she started edging politely towards her mother.

"Oh, Tori, how many times have I talked to you about not leaving your books lying around in the corridors? Please put them up and then come meet us at the front. We're going to head home soon," Stella softly scolded her daughter.

Armin felt a pang of guilt since he was the reason Tori had dropped the books in the first place, "I'll help you," he offered, feeling partly responsible.

"You don't have too, it's no trouble," Tori answered, bending to pick up the stack.

"No really, it's my fault you dropped them," he said and took half of the stack out of her hands.

"Awww, see Marie, they're already getting along so well! I just knew they would from what you told me about Armin. He sounded just like my Tori. Come on, let's go find the men and see to the carriage. I want you to ride back with us tonight and you can leave that uncomfortable old wagon here in the library stables with your horses," Stella informed Armin's mother and took her arm to escort her to the building's entrance.

Armin looked to his mother for confirmation that it was okay to help Tori with the books. He received her reassuring smile as she left with her friend and he turned to follow a silent Tori towards the back of the library. They went through a doorway into a small room and it was here that Tori placed the books on a desk. The room was full of stacked books in different locations and it looked to Armin like this is where the books were sorted to be placed back on the shelves in the main room. He looked at the stack of books in his hands and noticed they were all fantasy novels from the titles ingrained on the leather covers. Maybe Tori really liked fantasy? It was one of his favorite genres too, though he preferred factual books about geography and history.

"Where should I put these?" he asked.

"Oh, just anywhere on the desk. We can sort them tomorrow," Tori answered.

Armin set the books down. "Do you work here too, with your parents?"

She nodded. "Not officially, but I help around sometimes."

"Have you read a lot of the books?"

"Yes, most of the ones I can understand anyways. That's all I really do most of the time. My parents bring me here a lot since we live kind of far away in Orvud District."

"Why don't you live near here?"

"My dad says it's because we don't have as much money as the people in Mitras have."

Tori blew out the lamps in the room and then started to make her way out of the room and towards the front of the library like her mother had asked. Armin followed, even more curious about the obviously classy little girl who wasn't "rich" enough to live in Mitras. She clearly had much more than he ever had. Her clothes looked new like she had barely ever worn them and her shoes were in the same style as most of the people he had seen in the capitol. What she wore seemed to him to be of simple design, but he had noticed her mother and father wore more extravagant clothes and just seemed to radiate a certain royal attitude that was common to Wall Sina. It was so strange that her family would consider themselves poorer and not as privileged as other people from Mitras, when Armin was used to living on next to nothing compared to them. His parents had enough for the three of them to live comfortably enough in Shiganshina, but compared to the way people lived here…they might as well be beggars in the streets.

The walk back to the front of the building was quiet between to two children. At first Tori had seemed talkative and open, but he realized now that was not the case. She hadn't tried to engage him in any conversation, and he wasn't sure if it was because she was just that shy and nervous around him or because she didn't like him. He had gotten her in trouble earlier with the books. He sure hoped she didn't hate him, because he really liked her. He wasn't sure exactly why, maybe it was because of the way she had smiled at him, or maybe he had seen something like a possible friendship in her eyes, but she seemed smart enough and she liked books as much as he did. If she warmed up to him enough maybe they could be friends.

More Authors Note Ahead! You don't have to read it :). I hope you enjoyed the story! If not, then…you know…don't read it either. I'd love to hear from you all about what you thought, and any advice you would like to give! Questions? Comments? All are welcome!

A/N:

To the other ArminxOC authors out there: I apologize ahead of time if anything I write here seems similar to something you have written! I am not trying to copy anyone! I promise! Just let me know though if I'm treading on your turf…I can always fix that. And please continue to write and update your own stories! Of what I have read of them I like them all!

To Everyone: So this story will be a slow build up romance since I believe it's important to really build up a relationship and not move so fast. I haven't read much of the manga so I will base most of this on the anime until I can catch up on reading it.

The story will take place during the normal time range and follow the events of SnK, but I will be filling in the time gaps and possibly do some AU towards the end.

Sorry if I took a few liberties with Armin and how soon he knew about the book about the outside world. I know in the real storyline he tells Eren about it way later than what I have set up here, but for the story purposes I changed it around a little. Oh, and I took some liberties with Armin's parents since there really are no references about them.

It is a belief of mine that you readers can really have a say in the story and any offers of ideas or advice will be most welcomed! This is one of the things I love about Fanfiction, the interaction between the author and the readers is close and meaningful. See you next time and Thanks For Reading!