If he had a choice, Armin would have stayed inside for the rest of his life, never going outside ever, even if that meant fatal consequences in the future. Because at least the inside protected you and shielded you from the weather, including the absolute horrible weather that raged on in Shiganshina City.
If it was summer, they would have the worst heat waves, cement melting, and sunburn-giving sunshine that had ever existed on the planet. If it was winter, blizzards and snowstorms would tear down buildings and put families in homes for weeks, sometimes electricity absent. If it was fall, the chills of the breezes never ended, with no sunlight for days and cloudy weather setting the real experience for Halloween.
But worst of all, the season that Armin Arlert, (and he was sure that the other residents of Shiganshina dreaded it the most as well) was spring. Spring seemed like one of those seasons where there were hardly any holidays to worry about, with refreshing breaks, and a newfound year to celebrate the end of the cold and slushy snow.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case in his hometown. It was next to impossible, really. Because instead of a new beginning, it brought rain. And tons of it.
Sure, spring was good for clearing out the hundreds of feet of snow that was left of winter, and it melted away the numerous, (and particularly dangerous icicles) but as soon as Spring Equinox began, all was left of the climate was pure sheets of either slick, slimy, cold, cool, hot, warm, and gallons of rain.
The blonde wasn't very fond of precipitation in the first place, and living in a place like Shiganshina City was a nightmare. He still didn't see why he still lived there, or haven't even bothered to even think about moving out. The thought just never occurred to him since he was more busy trying to avoid the wrath of Shiganshina's horrendous weather half the time.
All of this led to the situation he was currently in—standing shivering cold and wet in the incredibly hellish rain, lost in the corners of the city, and only suspicious looking people surrounding him.
Is this what I get for trying to run an errand for Eren? He just had to ask for some random ingredient that no one has heard of for his chemistry project, and of course I'm his only friend that can retrieve it for him.
His mind went back to Eren approaching him that morning for the rare ingredient—"only in the outskirts of Shiganshina, only a few stores have it. Please, Armin, I could fail this class if I don't get it!"
"I understand, but, can't you get it yourself . . . ? I have my own project to work on as well for Miss Hanji's class, you know," he questioned him with an eyebrow raised.
Eren's cheeks went ablaze, the color of deep scarlet blossoming across his face like a growing flower. He nervously stuttered,"W-well, about that . . . "
"Eren," Armin said sternly.
"Okay," the brunette sighed, ruffling his hand through his hair awkwardly,"Well, you know Mikasa Ackerman, right? That cute Asian chick that Annie is partnered with?"
Armin scoffed, rolling his eyes,"She's more than the 'cute Asian chick' you think she is, Eren."
"I know, I know, don't start giving me those boring three-hour lectures about 'It's personality that counts too!' again! It's just . . . well . . . "
He started to leave when Eren grabbed his arm and sighed willingly,"Okay, okay! Mikasa and Annie are already done with the project, and I promised her to take her to the petting zoo today, and the project is due tomorrow . . . "
Armin's trollface started to come on and his inner heart knew he shipped it. He grinned evilly while chanting loudly,"Eren likes Mikasa! Eren likes Mikasa! Did you hear that?! Er—"
He was interrupted by a slap on his mouth, his lips covered by Eren's hand. Already the other students on campus were looking at them strangely, and it was obvious his friend didn't want anyone knowing that he had a crush on Mikasa like a little high school girl.
As he slowly took his hand off Eren's face, the blonde sang in a whisper,"You like Mikasa, awww, how cute! Like two little love birds in love!"
Eren grunted angrily,"Shut up, Armin!" The hot-headed boy was already infamous for his short temper, and now he was gaining a reputation for shouting at his friend (if only friend, as Armin was his childhood pal since they were kids—Eren was quite bad when it came to the category of befriending people and trying not to scare them off with his easily angered attitude).
As he calmed down, Eren said,"Look, I know I screwed up by putting up finding this chemical till the last day, but I really need your help. And I don't want to disappoint Mikasa. Is that okay with you?"
Although he really wanted to spend his evening cuddled up inside his apartment with his blankets at Netflix, he sighed, and reluctantly nodded, and Eren grinned eagerly and slapped his friend's shoulder a little too hard and cheered,"That's great! I knew I could count on you!"
"That's what I get for being easily persuaded," Armin grumbled, clutching his thin jacket, with no umbrella to help him at all. Closing his eyes, he felt the torrent of rain splash over him, freezing his insides like ice. If he stood out here any longer, he felt as if his entire body would be a block of ice and his face enveloped in frost.
He leaned against a brick wall of one of the shady-looking stores, not caring who looked at him or gave him curious glances. He wanted to get inside and find warmth, but it was well past closing time, and only darkness shrouded his view. He only felt the the painful feeling of utter coldness; the harshness gripping his skin and teeth and nails, chilling him to the bone.
"Hey, you okay?" a female voice echoed in the distance, and Armin warily lifted his head, squinting his eyes at the figure. As they came closer, the darkness of the night revealed the person to be his classmate—Annie Leonhart, to be exact. She was usually emotionless as Mikasa in class and hardly displayed any feeling besides apathy, and her face and voice were almost always stone and monotone. But in the blackness and drenching rain, her icy pale blue eyes showed some sort of worry, her face set in a way that a stranger would be if they saw someone bleeding on the street.
Armin's heart stopped, and instantly warmth crept up to his cheeks. It was so stupid. It was as imbecilic and insolent as Eren's crush on Mikasa, and about as mature as a relationship in middle school. Yet here he was, an adult in university, who strongly believed in the rightness of math and science, convinced of all the statistics of a real relationship, (which included that 'love' is a deep bond complicated into many forms of psychology, chemistry, and much more scientific things that he was too lazy to bother to explain in in depth details) and still head over heels in a childish crush over a pretty blonde who he found attractive.
He would admit that Annie was quite beautiful, with a thin figure, yet a strong a form, delicate features, yet sharp qualities, and physically pleasing aspects. It was all human. But he would never admit that he admired her from afar, thinking of her constantly whenever it was class time, sometimes spacing out during lectures just to watch whatever she was doing. He liked the little things about her, the way sometimes her lips would quirk upward, just for a second, yet still there; beautiful and perfect as it was. The way her usual emotionless eyes would flicker in excitement whenever a new project was announced.
Everything about her defied Armin's strong belief in love at first sight, that a deep emotional connection and bond must be formed before romance and 'true love', or even things that humans foolishly craved like sex.
He loved her appearance, her personality, who she was. How she hid herself in a cold shell, but was secretly happy and amazing inside. He wanted to uncover who Annie Leonhart was. However, he had a whole year to do that exact thing, but being the awfully closed off and introverted person he was, he never had the chance.
And now his final year of university was ending, and he could never have the chance to even speak to Annie again, as everyone would be heading their separate ways. He had so many chances and days and seconds when Annie moved to Shiganshina from the countryside, and now she was going to disappear from his grasp.
He had never felt this way about a girl before, and to him, it wasn't cute or shy, it was utterly pathetic for a guy like him who never had crushes before. He didn't know why he liked Annie so much . . . it was rather unexplainable. She was different; someone unique; someone who stood out from all the other girls he had known in his life (besides his family). He felt some sort of pull towards her, an affection he couldn't control.
Time unpaused, and he grasped his body, hugging himself to stop the cold from creeping anymore on him. He barely said through stuttered fragments that somehow formed words,"I-I . . . not sur-r-re . . . " he coughed roughly, and footsteps approached him.
Annie leaned down so close to his face he only choked from the sheer distance between their faces. Why did this girl always have to get this heartbeat racing so fast? He loathed it, but loved her, no matter how many times his brain denied it.
"You don't look so. What are you doing here so late at night anyway? You know this part of Shiganshina is sketchy, right?" Annie stated as if this was a known fact, and it was, but the way she said it almost seemed . . . compassionate. Caring.
"E-eren wanted me to get that rare ingredient for Miss Hanji's project," he replied, shivering and stuttering less this time to spare his embarrassment and judgement from Annie.
An irk mark formed on Annie's temple and she sighed, shaking her head. She helped Armin stand up, her firm arms lifting him from his awkward position. She threw her arm around his shoulder, and with her other hand she unwinded the knitted scarf on her neck and gave it to him. As they walked, Annie explained,"Wished I had more to give, but I didn't think I would run into you at this hour. Damn Jaeger is killing you, you know. He should take responsible of his own mistakes. Anyway, what's your address? I'll walk you home."
This was the most Armin had ever heard Annie speak, and he widened his eyes and only murmured,"7886, Asuka Avenue."
Annie sighed again, more heavily this time,"Man, Jaeger really dragged you out here, didn't he?"
They walked more and more for what seemed like hours, and the only thing Armin could process was that Annie Leonhart was half-hugging him and just gave him her scarf.
Out of nowhere, Armin stopped and Annie looked at him curiously, and he finally asked, with the rain pouring around them,"Wh-why are you doing this?"
She raised her eyebrows, and then slowly started to laugh wryly. They were who knows where, alone, in the dead of night, with a street light barely illuminating them.
In the light, Annie's pale face looks like a moon, and she matches with the stars. How beautiful, Armin shamelessly thought.
She looked up at the sky, and motioned for him to do the same. They stood there, their heads hung up, for what seemed like hours, before Annie finally said,"When I first moved here, I hated it. I wanted to go back to my home in the countryside with all my heart, but I couldn't. Where I lived, there was no university, just poor excuses for primary and secondary schools. I barely got into here, but with some connections I did. I don't even think I qualify to be here. I don't even think I'm smart."
Armin interrupted quickly,"But you are! I know you are, the way you smile whenever the lesson starts, and how much you love chemistry and astrology, and how your eyes light up when you get the answer correct and all the good grades you get—"
At this point, Armin stopped with absolute embarrassment, realizing he just gave away that he was basically stalking her the entire year. He looked down with shame, crimson burning on his face.
When he finally glanced back up, he saw the complete opposite of what he thought Annie would look like—not enraged, surprised, or disgusted. Instead, her face was burning as bright as his, and it was the first time he witnessed Annie Leonhart ever blush. The blood rushing to her face was the most adorable thing he had ever saw, and his heart fluttered a little in his chest.
"I—I . . . You . . . You pay attention to those things? You like that?" Annie sputtered in shock.
Armin gulped, and whispered,"Yeah, I do, and I admire it a lot. And . . . you still haven't said why you helped me tonight."
The emotionless girl was now the most emotional person he had ever been with, and she glanced down, and said,"Like I was saying . . . at first, I was so sad and desperate, and I was shameful to be. So I locked all of that in an armored heart. I wouldn't let anyone get close to me. But I met so many kind people who welcomed me with open arms . . . I started to enjoy living here in Shiganshina. I started feeling like I was appreciated, and loved, and smart. I loved studying and mathematics and science, chemistry and the universe especially. I love learning how one chemical can mix with each other and react, and how the stars are formed into constellations. And I started to feel like myself again, and when I saw you so desperate and hopeless there . . . I had to help. Because that's what the old Annie would do, right?!"
They were now inches away from each other, and Annie unexpectedly clutched Armin's arms, shaking them as rain slipped down her face. Armin tilted her chin up, and saw that they weren't rain. They were tears.
He embraced her, and shouted while sobbing as well,"Your not lonely anymore, Annie. You don't have to cry anymore, or hide yourself under an armored heart."
Annie clutched Armin, and they seemed to never let go of each other. She looked up to Armin, and whispered,"Thank you. Thank you."
And when Armin lay his lips on hers, he started to believe, maybe, maybe, that love wasn't statistics or mathematics or science, it was simply, love.