"Good morning, Annie," Armin cheerfully remarked, walking over to the crystallized mass shackled up. He stared at Annie for a moment, just as he did every morning. She looked so sad in there, all alone and with the tears running down her cheeks. Armin wished he could break her out, find a way for everyone to forgive her, then help her join the Survey Corps.
The blonde boy thought about it a lot. He would talk with Annie alone; try to understand why she did what she did. He'd then help her, show her that she didn't have to try to kidnap Eren. She could help humanity, too. With two titans on the side of humanity, everything would be great. Humanity's chance of survival would be better and that's what he'd tell his superiors to try and get them to forgive her. His plan was perfect, but there was one flaw; Annie didn't seem like she was ever going to come out.
So instead, he pulled up a chair and sat down in front of her. Every morning Armin would get up extra early to visit with Annie. He'd sit in front of her and talk about his previous day. Armin was exceptionally skilled in filling a silence and that skill came in handy a lot more now.
"After I left you yesterday, I went to eat breakfast with the rest of our troops. I sat between Reiner and Jean. Bertoldt was diagonal from me and then Eren was across me. Mikasa was on Eren's right side. We were all talking about our dreams when Reiner said he had a dream about you. I don't remember the exact details, but he said that it was more like a memory playing over while he slept. Something about you, him, and Bert were braiding grass together out of utter boredom. I thought it was funny and thought I would share it with you since it concerned you. Bertoldt seemed rather upset about it, though, and left immediately." Armin sighed, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling. "We all miss you, Annie. Me, Eren, Reiner, Bertoldt… We all just want you to come out. Please. Please come out. Everything you've done can be forgiven. I forgive you. I just want to help you. I want to know wh-"
"Armin what the hell are you doing?!" came a voice, cutting Armin off.
Abruptly, the boy stood up, knocking over his chair and saluting. "I-I'm sorry, sir! I was just—Eren, you gave me a heart attack!" he scolded, bending to pick up the chair and sitting back down. The fear of being caught talking to her by a superior officer was horrifying. They would probably assume Armin was plotting with her from the beginning and he'd be thrown in jail.
"But why are you here?" he asked, making his way over to Armin. He looked over Annie and looked away in disgust.
"I could ask you the same." He crossed his arms and looked away. "Just leave me be, Eren. Why are you even awake?"
"Corporal Levi asked me to come dust this room yesterday and I forgot, so he made me get up early to do it," Eren explained. "Now why are you here? And what were you talking about?"
Armin's heart sank. Corporal Levi had gotten Eren up? That meant the Corporal was awake and Armin could be caught. "I just come here and talk sometimes. I know she can hear me." He looked up at Annie, arms uncrossing and gripping the edges of his seat instead. "I'm trying to get her to come out. I-I… I miss her."
The brunette snorted. "You miss Annie? How could you miss someone who betrayed humanity?"
Armin stood again. "She has a reason, Eren! I know she does! I just need to find out! I know it's not her fault. Something else is going on here. I can feel it." He walked up to the big crystal and placed his hand on the cold surface.
"Armin, I think you're going insane. Annie is evil and she's never coming out of that stupid crystal because she's not man enough to face her mistakes." Eren pulled Armin back. "Are you listening to me? You need to forget about her and move on! She's a bad person and she's dead to everyone. She should be dead to you, too!"
"No! Shut up! You don't know anything." Roughly, he jerked away from Eren and out of his grasp. "Annie was good to me." He turned away and stormed out of the room.
The next morning, Armin walked into "Annie's room" and pulled up the chair. "Good morning, Annie! I'm sorry I didn't give you a proper goodbye yesterday and I'm sorry Eren was being difficult. He's masking his feelings by resenting you and I know it. He knows I know, too, which makes him angrier." He went on for a while longer, talking about yesterday and about his dreams. He spoke about the team and how the Military Police were trying to take custody of Eren.
When it was time to report to the mess hall, he stood, put the chair back in its rightful place and made his way to the door. He lingered for a moment, looking back at the gloomy crystal. He closed the door and walked back over to it, placing a hand where Annie's heart was resting underneath. "Please," he begged. Timidly, he pushed himself up on his tip toes and placed a kiss where her cheek rested underneath the crystal. "I'll wait for you."
And Armin kept true to his word. Twenty years later, he was still single and still waiting for Annie to come out. While he had aged twenty years, she had stayed the same as she had always been. Every morning Armin would still visit, plead, kiss her, and leave. Every morning he'd speak to her. Every morning until one day, Armin didn't return from the outer walls, that is.