AN: And I'm back! I know I once said that I'd try updating everyday, and I did for some time, but now I'm pretty busy (Thesis proposals is coming this week!) so I decided to take LunaBloom's — you are awesome, by the way — advice and update maybe once or twice a week. Forgive me, guys. I love you and this fanfic, and don't worry, I am planning to finish this some time soon.
So now let's continue on to Chapter Twelve. This is the penultimate chapter of Part II. Yay! Anyway, the song inspiration for this one is "All I want" by Kodaline.
Disclaimer: I do not own Attack on Titan. If I did, Armin and Annie would be living in a small house near the ocean with hundreds of adorable kids.
Chapter Twelve
Three Years Later
Sunlight glinted on the surface of the huge chunk of crystal standing in the middle of the room, reflecting the light on the walls, floor and ceiling like a spectrum. Inside the crystal was a young girl with white-blond hair and closed eyes. Her nose, which often caught people's attention, was overshadowed by the single tear sliding down her face. That tear had been making its way down her cheek for three years now.
Annie was unmoving inside her self-made prison. She was frozen — frozen in time, in age, in beauty. As he gazed at her from his usual spot in front of her crystal, sitting in a wooden chair and book in hand, Armin can't help but to admire her features for maybe the thousandth time since he first came to her three years ago. He visited her almost everyday, reading to her even though he knew that she couldn't hear him. Sometimes, when he was plagued with nightmares about his past, he would come here and talk to her; he would always ask for her forgiveness at the end of these one-sided conversations.
If Annie hadn't changed, it was the opposite for Armin. Three years had really taken its toll on him. He was now taller, with broader shoulders and leaner muscles. He wasn't bulky, or fit, but he was definitely not a walking toothpick anymore. His hair was now longer, brushing way past his shoulders, and he kept it in a half-ponytail. There were some scars running up and down his arms, some faint, some more noticeable, physical evidences of the battles he'd been through.
Today, Armin bought something new with him: the letters he had once sent to Annie. Darius Zackly had returned them to him after a few years of keeping them, stating something about time catching up with him, something that Armin did not understand. Armin did not know why he had given him these letters, which were the cynics' favorite thing to use against him. Yes, after all these years, there were still some who didn't trust him due to his connections with Annie.
"Hey, Annie," he said to the virtually empty room. "Look what I have. It's the letters I sent you. There are plenty of them — I really was a sucker for writing, huh? Oh well, I'm glad you kept all of them, though you should have known better than to store them in a drawer where Hitch could get them, you know?"
Armin laughed gently. He could almost hear Annie saying, Give a better suggestion then, genius. That always happened, him imagining Annie's response to his words; in his head her replies were often witty, snappy and frank, exactly like her. There were days when all he could think about was how everything would have been much better if she were still there by his side, encouraging him.
He wanted her back. Not just because she held useful information that might help them defeat the Titans, or that she could certainly track down the other Titan Shifters, but because Armin simply wanted to hear her voice again. Sighing, he opened the first envelope.
Armin rode alongside Mikasa and Jean. In front of them were Commander Erwin and the rest of the Levi Squad, who had been there during graduation and was now welcoming them to the Survey Corps. They were leading the cadets towards an abandoned castle that they were using as a base outside the walls, and there, Armin and the others would have their six month training before going out into their very first expedition.
He felt so many emotions inside him: excitement, anticipation, nervousness, fear, longing. The last one had something to do with him leaving Annie behind inside the walls, where she was working with the Military Police. He knew she was alright — there was no safer place than Wall Sina, after all. Absentmindedly, Armin's hand crept to his lips, remembering the kiss he and Annie had shared before they parted ways. She had promised to wait for him, and he believed her.
"We're here," announced Petra.
The new members of the Survey Corps slowed down to a trot, admiring the large castle that loomed before them. It had a white façade, high towers, and a rose window. It showed no signs of crumbling, much to Armin's relief. Near the entrance were the stables, its stalls empty save a few horses.
The cadets hopped down from their rides, their legs sore. Armin looked around, searching for Eren, when his best friend suddenly came up to them, smiling widely. Apparently, he had spotted them first.
"Guys, you're here!" he said happily.
"Eren, tell me, did they hurt you?" asked Mikasa urgently, grabbing him by the arms. She glared at the doors of the castle. "That shorty really got you bad. I'll make him pay someday —"
"You mean Captain Levi?" said Eren, referring to the man who had beat him up on his own court trial. Although it was for the best, Armin knew that Mikasa would never forgive him for having so much as touch Eren. "It's fine."
"Eren!" shouted Connie, waving.
Eren's face lit up when he saw almost all of them in the Survey Corps. "Wow guys, you all signed up. So the only ones who joined the MP are Jean, Marco and Annie?"
"No," said a voice behind him.
"Jean?" Eren said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"I joined, idiot."
"But why?"
"Marco's dead."
Eren's eyes went wide. Everyone was silent. Armin bowed his head, thinking of their lost friend. Marco, who was always there with a helping hand. He and Armin used to do maintenance together with their ODM gears, so he was pretty close with the guy. Jean scoffed, then turned around, not bothering to explain anything to Eren. It wasn't necessary anyway.
"Okay, line up!" a man shouted, a pile of folded, dark green clothes in his hands. "Your uniforms are here."
They clasped the cloaks around their necks, the symbol of the Wings of Liberty sown proudly on their backs. Armin felt exhilarated; this was it, the moment of truth. They were really part of the Survey Corps now. Armin never imagined himself wearing one of these uniforms one day, but now he was, and he was doing it alongside his closest friends.
"Go and familiarize yourselves with the place, training isn't until tomorrow, so feel free to rest today," said Commander Erwin. "Also, I know you all want to write to your families back in the wall, but supplies won't be coming until next week, so until then, I'm sorry but you have to wait. On the bright side, the supply squad would be delivering the letters from them to you, so you have something to look forward to."
The cadets who still had families waiting for them all smiled with relief. Eren, Mikasa and Armin had no one left, so they didn't really expect to receive anything when the end of the week came.
As they were all eating in the spacious Dining Hall, a messenger came in, shouting the names of the people who had letters for them. Jean received a letter and a homemade omelet from his mother; Connie got one from his family; and even Christa got a thank you message from Daz, who she had saved back on their winter training. The trio continued on with their eating, when the man called out: "Eren Jaeger!"
Eren took the envelope with a confused look. Ripping open the paper, he smiled and met Armin and Mikasa'a inquiring gaze.
"It's from Hannes," he said. The three of them read the contents of the letter, which mostly centered around him asking how they were and reminding them to stay safe.
"Armin and Mikasa, please keep Eren away from trouble," finished Eren. He huffed indignantly. "What's that suppose to mean? I can take care of myself!"
Armin chuckled as the messenger yelled out one last name. "Armin Arlert!" he said loudly, dropping the white, pristine envelope in front of him. The messenger left, his job finally done.
Armin picked up the letter, studying it. In its back, written in an untidy scrawl, was his full name. He turned the envelope over, and saw that a wax seal with the Military Police insignia adorned it. There could only be one person in the MP who would be writing to him.
After dinner, Armin ran as fast as he could to their shared rooms, climbing up his bunk bed in a hurry. Placing a lamp next to his bed, he opened the envelope and unfolded the letter that was inside. It read:
Dear Armin,
I figured that the supplies would take a while before reaching you, so I took the liberty of writing first. I assume you want to know how I am doing, and to answer you question, I am doing fine. The Military Police Headquarters isn't really a bad place to live in, if you know what I mean.
My room is pretty nice, with large windows and a doubled decker bed. I hate my room mate, though. Her name is Hitch, and she's very talkative and lazy. She's always leaving her clothes across the floor, and it's annoying the hell out of me. You must be laughing at me right now, but you know how low my tolerance is for those kind of people.
I miss you. I saw a book in one of the Commander's shelves yesterday, and I thought that you'd like it. It's about politics and all that, and it looked boring to me, but I know you'd love to read it. You are fond of boring shit, after all, and I say that as a compliment. I hope you're safe. Write to me once you get the chance.
Annie
Armin smiled, reading the letter over and over again, scanning her handwriting, her words, her tone. He was glad that she had settled in, but he was more glad of the fact that she seemed to be thinking about him, as her reference to the book had suggested. Placing the paper back into its envelope and setting it aside, Armin wrote back, saying:
Dear Annie,
First of all, I am fine and well. And yes, you're right, I was thinking about how you were doing. I can see that you've met quite a character in Hitch, and I hope I don't receive a letter saying that you've knocked her teeth out, but if I did, I wouldn't be surprised.
We're staying in some old castle not so far from the walls, preparing for our upcoming first expedition. If I heard correctly, we'll be going back to Wall Maria after the six month training before venturing out again. I hope we could meet when we come back, and maybe you could show me that book you told me about if your Commander lends it to you.
Yesterday, Ymir and Reiner got into a small argument over who would marry Christa, and I lost a bet after Reiner surrendered before the fight actually started. He's just too nice, I guess, and besides, Ymir was hugging Christa the whole time so he can't really do anything. I wish you were there — it would be so much fun with your dry commentary.I miss you, too. Terribly. Hope to see you soon.
Armin
The next week, Armin received an answer from Annie. He read it there and then at the dining hall, hiding it under the table, his head low as he excitedly ran his eyes over the letter.
Dear Armin
Reiner is such a wuss. If I were him, I would have flipped Ymir on her back and took Christa to myself. I'd I hadn't known better, I'm sure Ymir is intentionally riling him up. He needs to learn to assert himself, if you ask me. If there was a bet for you, I'd have killed the other contenders by —
Armin smiled, amused, as the last sentence was obviously crossed out by Annie. She put a line over the words, as if she hadn't meant to write them, but did not have the time to make a new one. Laughing softly, he continued:
Anyway, my past week was pretty much uneventful. We do virtually nothing here at the MP aside from occasionally patrolling the streets of Wall Sina. No wonder Hitch chose to be here; she fits the MP perfectly. I'm looking forward to the day you return. I'll find a way for us to meet up, maybe inside Wall Maria, since I don't want my comrades here at the MP to see us and bombard me with questions — they're nosy enough as it is.
How are the others? What do you exactly do there, anyway? I wish six months would hurry up. I miss talking to you. Everyone here is stupid, I can't take it.
Annie
Armin laughed at that. Eren and Mikasa, who were sitting across from him, gave him curious looks. Armin smiled at them apologetically and turned back to his letter. He was just about to stuff it back into his pocket when someone suddenly snatched it from his hand. Ymir smirked at him, unfolding the paper and scanning it.
Armin had expected her to read it out loud, to embarrass him and laugh at his face, but all she did was give it back to him and shout across the room at Connie: "You owe me one!"
"Aww man," said Connie. "Really?"
"Yup," she replied. "Told you I saw them kissing back at camp."
Everyone in the room, which included some veterans of the Survey Corps and the Levi Squad, turned to Armin, whose face was red. Petra smiled kindly at him, and Oulo even gave him a thumbs-up.
As Connie gave Ymir some precious coins from his allowance, she turned to him and said, "Thanks, Arlert. You and Leonhardt are quite the duo, if I may say so myself."
Armin simply inclined his head. He turned to Eren, who shrugged and smiled as if to say, I'm cool with it. Mikasa looked miffed, but she nodded her approval nonetheless.
"You should have told us, though," she said under her breath. "Annie. I don't like her, but I can't say that I didn't saw it coming."
Feeling lighthearted by his friends' acceptance and the not-so-bad reveal of his relationship with Annie to the others, he wrote back to her.
Dear Annie
Guess what happened today? The Survey Corps found out about us exchanging letters. I didn't mean for them to know, but apparently Ymir and Connie have been betting about us for quite some time now. It's kind of funny, actually — looks like we're not the only ones who are fond of wagers.
I feel the same way. Six months just seem to stretch out forever. But still, the wait does make our reunion more special. With regards to your question about our activities, all we do is practices with our ODM gears and clean the mansion under Captain Levi's orders. He's just like you, I think: amazing in combat, not too talkative, a clean freak, and quite short. Don't get angry about the last one; there is nothing wrong with it, because your height suits you perfectly.
Hoping to see your face again soon.
Armin
He laughed as he put the letter down. "I remember you writing back to me saying that you'd kick my butt to prove what short people could do."
The room was only dimly lit by the setting sun. The light slanting through the barred window gave the room a harsh, dark red glow. Armin stood up, the chair scraping on the wooden floor, and proceeded to lighting the torches around the room.
"Still no changes?"
He turned around to see Squad Leader Hange leaning against the doorframe, a finger to her chin. She was gazing at Annie's crystal, a wistful smile on her face.
"The sight of her never gets old — no pun intended," she said. She nodded to the wad of envelopes in his hand. "Ahh. Reading to her?"
Hange knew of Armin's frequent visits to the infamous crystal, and she and him were once in charge of studying her before the whole project was put on hold for another expedition. She always had a feeling that the boy had never really let go of Annie, and instead of despising him for it, like the others, it made her sad and amused at the same time.
"Yes," he replied. He walked to her and turned to Annie once more. "Bye, Annie. I'll be back tomorrow."
As Armin and Hange locked the door behind them, a soft, sizzling sound pierced through the silence. A fault stretched from the tip of the crystal to the bottom, with tendrils of white, cold smoke coming out of it.