Disclaimer : I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan nor its characters.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Read Author's note at end to know next Update Date.


"So why haven't you told her yet?"

"Because it's not easy for a person like me." Armin forced a smile. "She's whole-heartedly in love with someone else. That's why I hesitate."

And right then and there, Annie's words during their break-up began to echo in his head. He remembered it, what she said—it was practically etched in his mind.

"Why are you breaking up with me?" A more naïve Armin had asked during then.

"Armin…" She had sighed. "How can I love someone who hasn't completely let go of his other feelings?"


Annie remembered the day Armin confessed to her very vividly.

They were in their early teens when it had happened. They were standing behind the school, just the two of them. Armin was pink, nervous and fidgety.

She hadn't expected for him to develop feelings for her, much less confess. She had always thought he had a thing for that other girl she often saw him walking home with— which was why she never acted on the feelings she had garnered for him. The last thing she wanted was to get involved in some troublesome love triangle affair. Trigonometry was already a pain in the ass.

"You're not dating… Mikasa?" was the first thing she asked after his confession, and she recalled him flinching at the mention of her name. She probably should've taken that as a warning at that time, and considered. But instead, her younger teenage-self decided to ignore his reaction, thinking nothing of it.

Annie couldn't remember the exact day or a specific event that sparked these little feelings she had for Armin. Or perhaps, it wasn't just one event that led up to the annoying fluttery feelings accumulating in her stomach, in her heart.

They had been desk-mates for a class, chemistry. Little conversations happened, and a new friendship blossomed, and somewhere along the way feelings did too. They eventually clicked, at least at that time.

She admired his intelligence, curiosity and kindness. And despite the fact most people found her to be apathetic, Armin was one of the few people who found her nice. He admired her intelligence, too, and her strength and honesty.

"I'm not dating her." His reply was immediate after he had flinched. "She likes someone else, and I have long let go my feelings of her."

"But!" He quickly continued before Annie could respond, and his anxiousness came kicking back in after delivering the solemn statement of truth that he and Mikasa were merely just friends. "I-I don't mean to say you're a replacement! I just moved on and now I… I feel these things for you… I… I like you and I…well…"

His flushed cheeks spoke for itself, something Annie couldn't help but find cute. And at that moment, her cheeks were burning too.

Just like that, she accepted his confession, and the dating started.

From Annie's perspective in the beginning of their relationship, what Armin had said was true. He had let go of whatever feelings he had for Mikasa, and let the ones he had for Annie grow.

They had fun. They went on dates. They kissed. He was her first kiss, and she was his. They were like any other couple. They barely argued, and if they did they'd fix it. So where did it all go wrong?

Annie couldn't possibly find it in herself to completely blame Armin for the failure of their relationship. After all, he wasn't lying when he said she wasn't a replacement. He was just… confused. And maybe he did feel things for her. But maybe, something else happened along the way that had made the feelings he had for Annie weaken, and the ones he had for Mikasa re-awaken and intensify.

The worst part of it all, he was unaware of this.

The worst part for Annie, was that she had to go through this.

She noticed. She watched. The way he looked at Mikasa. The way he would look at things that'd remind him of her. The way he would smile at the things that did remind him of her.

It was always a sorrowful smile.

"Why are you smiling at your pudding? Did you study so much until you went to the deep end?" Annie scoffed, joking light-heartedly as she bit into her donut.

"Huh?" Armin said, unaware of his smile. "Oh I…" He began to laugh a little awkwardly. "It's just one time, when Mikasa and I were younger, there was this pudding incident…" The way he talked about her, the way he looked as he talked about her… made Annie wonder if those feelings he once let go, had come crawling back. It didn't take her long to notice that he no longer looked at her the same way as how a lover would, lovingly. As each day passed, that look began to fade into something more of a friendly look.

What happened? She wondered, she could only wonder.

The only thing she could blame Armin for was how he left his feelings unresolved. Instead of confronting them and then letting go, he ran away and then decided to let go. There was a difference in these sort of things. A difference he couldn't recognize nor knew at that time.

And because Annie didn't like beating around the bush, and because she didn't want to be hurt—for both of them to be hurt, she decided to confront him. Break up with him.

She couldn't go on in a relationship like this. One-sided.

She met him at the park after announcing on the phone that she no longer wanted to be with him. They sat silently on the park's bench, and when she glimpsed at his reddish eyes she wondered if she was making the right choice.

"Don't cry." She started softly. "This is for the best."

"…Why are you breaking up with me?" A more naïve Armin had asked during then.

"Armin…" Annie had sighed. "How can I love someone who hasn't completely let go of his other feelings?"

Armin's eyes widened, and Annie knew right then and there did he finally, for the first time, became aware of his own feelings for another girl. Another girl that wasn't her.

By right, she should be angry. She should be angry at this betrayal, angry at the fact he let his feelings fade away, angry at him for letting another girl to steal his heart. And how dare he not even be aware of all of this?

But she couldn't bring herself to. Because she still loved him and because she already knew he was in a lot of pain. Because she knew he'd soon feel an immense amount of guilt for doing all this to her once she made him aware. Because she knew he was a good person who didn't mean for all this to happen.

"I'm not blind, and even if I were, I'd still know." She murmured, her crystal hues meeting his. "I don't think what we had was all fake. But as time went by… you started drifting. Think about it. We became more like friends rather than lovers."

And Armin thought. Armin thought hard. About him, her, Mikasa, Eren… everything.

He bit his lip and he found himself starting to tear up upon coming to an epiphany. "I'm sorry." He said, as if he finally realised it.

Annie needn't ask for what. She looked away from his crying eyes and stared straight ahead, blankly. "It's better that we're breaking off now, before things could've gotten worse." She murmured, "You ought to… get your feelings solved, if not you're going to hurt. Not just feel hurt, but let others feel hurt." She said all these things so nonchalantly, and if Armin hadn't known her for so long, he'd have thought she felt nothing for him, and that was why she seemed so cold.

But because he knew her, he knew that she was acting strong. He decided not to say anything regarding that.

The only thing that he didn't know and didn't understand was how she didn't sound mad, how she wasn't mad. How could she not be mad at him? Not yell at him?

They talked for a bit. Annie couldn't remember exactly what. She wasn't so selfish to talk about—to demand him to return all her things back to her. She was sure they were talking about feelings, about time… about how it all snowballed to this mess.

She did remember one thing very clearly.

"…right now, do you feel anything for me? Is that why you're crying?" She asked, she had always been direct.

After a few moments of silence, sniffs and tears, Armin responded. "…no." The singular word that left his lips so honestly, made him feel so awful and left a bitter aftertaste on his tongue. "Not anymore. I…I just feel like a jerk." He looked up towards her, with sincere and apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry… I…—"

"You didn't know. You weren't aware." Annie mumbled before she stood up. "But now that you are, I hope you will learn something."

"…Annie, I—"

"When your two friends asked why we broke up, tell them it was me. I'll be the bad person. It doesn't matter, I'm switching schools soon, anyway." Armin's head perked up, and was about to ask why but Annie didn't give him the chance to. "Or if you don't want to lie, don't say anything. They'll just assume the worst of me. And I don't mind." She said, and he was confused by what she meant until she continued, "After all, you can't tell them we broke up because you like Mikasa, am I right?"

Armin bit his lip even tighter. He didn't deserve this generosity from Annie—how could she even offer something like that? To be the bad person?

"…why are you being so nice to me?" He managed to ask. "Aren't you mad that—" He stopped when she had abruptly stood up.

"You're a smart person. You should know why." It's because I am still stupidly in love with you, because I care for you and I know that now isn't the right time for you to reveal to that Ackerman everything and…

"And what good would yelling do? To make you feel worse than you already are? Contrary to popular belief, I'm not that much of a cold person." She scoffed slightly towards the end, before she started to walk off—to only halt briefly in her step midway when she heard Armin's final words that concluded that day.

"Thank you."

Thank you for being my first girlfriend, accepting my confession that day. Thank you for not being mad at me, even though I deserve it. Thank you for being a good person to me.

She resumed her walk instantly after those two words registered in her head. Thank you, huh?

And as Annie walked off, she felt her eyes water. Her heart began to wrench as she realised it was truly all over. Everything hurt, everything ached.

Thinking back about it now, Annie couldn't help but find it laughable how her relationship with Armin was like some sort of cliché school romance.

Soon after their break-up, Annie received glares from Mikasa when she returned back to school. And she glared back. But it was not because she blamed her for the misfortunates of her and Armin's relationship. She just didn't like backing down. Her glare did make one thing clear, though—that Armin kept his feelings for her as a secret. At that time it didn't matter to her, besides she was sure soon enough he'd confront those feelings right?

He wouldn't keep running away, right?

As more time passed, when the hurt gradually dissipated, the both of them talked a few more things out privately. Somehow, they maintained an amicable relationship, albeit they didn't talk as often—especially when Annie had transferred to a different school due to unrelated reasons.

And now here they were. Sitting together in a café.

"If you keep on hesitating, you're going to get hurt." Annie remarked. "You have already experienced the consequence of moving on from unresolved feelings as opposed to resolved. And it didn't turn out well for either one of us, did it?" She said this so calmly, as if she didn't feel affected from the past hurt. But what would Armin know? It had been a few years since their relationship came to an end. He wouldn't know the Annie sitting in front of him now as well as he did before, when they were together.

He flinched slightly at her statement, his expression shifting to the same sincerely apologetic one he had on the day of their break-up. "Annie… I—"

"It's okay." She interrupted. "I've moved on, after getting those feelings of mine resolved. I'm with someone else now."

Armin looked a little surprised at that new piece of information. Nonetheless, he smiled. He was happy for her. "That's good to hear."

Annie nodded, and shifted the topic back to him. "Aside from that, if you don't tell that Ackerman anything, I will."

Armin instantly tensed. "You wouldn't." Why would she?

Annie smirked slightly, finding his reaction amusing. "Who knows? I'm tired of her glaring at me without knowing what ever happened to us…"

"You don't even go to the same school as her anymore." Armin frowned. "Nor do you even live near her."

"Fair point." She acknowledged with a shrug. "But without a doubt if she walked by us right now, she would glare at me. And I would glare back."

Armin only sighed and held his arms up a little in surrender. "Just don't start a fight."

"No promises." She shrugged, "And no promises that I won't tell her about your feelings."

Armin groaned. He didn't seem that anxious, perhaps it was because he highly doubted Annie would do such a thing, right?

She wouldn't expose his feelings to Mikasa, right? Besides, it's not like they would ever meet up. Annie didn't even have her contact details.

"Why would you—"

"Because I thought by now, you would stop running away. But I was wrong. And because I doubt you'll ever tell her. And even when you want to, the moment you see that Eren… or when you see Mikasa with Eren, your inferiority complex kicks in, am I right?" Armin didn't respond, he froze for a half a minute before looking away from her. He detested how accurate she was, and he detested how her words were like arrows shooting to his fragile heart. When they were together, he never minded her bluntness. But now…

"And I care for you. Even after our messy past, I still consider you a friend." She said without much hesitance, and Armin slowly looked back towards her. "And you're a good person. And a good person like you, shouldn't have to be burdened with these feelings all because you're afraid of losing a friendship. If Mikasa is a true friend, she wouldn't throw your many years of friendship away just because…" Annie paused midway when her eyes peeled away briefly, to the café's window, where she spotted her outside.

Armin shot her a quizzical look when she had cut herself off, as well as had cut her gaze away for a prolonged period of time. "What's wrong? Is—" His head was about to turn towards the same direction as Annie's had, but got interrupted and startled in the process when Annie had slammed her hands down the table. A form of distraction.

"I have to use the ladies'." She reported, "I'll be right back."

"O-Oh…" Armin nervously nodded as he watched her exit the cafe. Was she looking at the toilet sign? He pondered, before heaving a sigh. Well, whatever.


Mikasa and Eren had left the shop not too long ago.

And thanks to Sasha's 'I thought you two were dating' statement, they were now walking side-by-side silently, awkwardly.

Mikasa didn't know what to say, not after that and the little teases Sasha gave her after when they were in the changing room, away from Eren. As for Eren, he didn't know why the hell he was in this awkward situation.

It wasn't as if… he and Mikasa dated or anything like that.

They were just friends, weren't they? Good, close friends. That's all they were.

So then why is there this weird, uncomfortable tension between us? Eren thought, holding back a groan.

His eyes sub-consciously averted towards Mikasa, who he noticed looking a little shy, with her cheeks slightly red for reasons that Eren would never be able to guess. It was clear that there were some thoughts about what Sasha said lingering in her brain, but for whatever reason, Eren couldn't bring himself to ask.

The idea of romance never crossed Eren's mind often, or at all. It didn't irk him or anything like that, he just never really saw it as something important to prioritize in his life—getting a girlfriend. Not to mention, all the people who were attracted to him, soon got turned off upon noticing his reckless and rude behaviour especially whenever he got pissed at Jean. It never bothered him, though. It wasn't like he had a crush on any of them. And most of the time, he wasn't even aware that they had liked him.

What did having a crush feel like, anyway?

He had asked Armin that once, when he was still dating Annie. And when he did, he got a response that wasn't exactly an answer.

"You'll just know. Eventually." He had said, before quietly murmuring the rest, something that Eren didn't quite catch that day. "But in your case… that might be an issue …"

I'll just know… huh? He thought, before pondering. Pondering about Mikasa. About her. About them. Back when they were kids. How they grew up together. How she had been there for him, despite all the occasional crap he would give her. How he held her hand reassuringly, back in the bus, after the shock she received from seeing her estranged brother at her doorstep. How he liked how…. How her smile…

Wait, why… am I thinking about Mikasa when I thought of roma—

"Is there… something on my face?" Mikasa managed to ask, having taken notice of the sneaky little glances Eren's eyes would take.

"I- It's…!" Eren quickly looked away in embarrassment upon being caught red handed, he had forgotten how sharp Mikasa could be. "It's… nothing." He spoke, adjusting his tone to be less flustered. He didn't even know why he was being flustered over such a trivial remark.

"Oh." Mikasa said, and because she didn't want the silence to remain anymore prolonged she continued, speaking whatever came to her mind first, "…Sasha and Connie are dating now." And out of all things, it was about dating.

"Wait, what?" Eren's flustered-self was fast to be diminished upon hearing such news. "I didn't see that coming… I thought they were just best friends, like in middle school…" He commented, surprised. Back in middle school, he always thought of them as some close friends, who were like those comedic duos he'd see on television. He thought of them as close friends, nothing more. After all, back then Connie was very grossed out at the idea of what he had called, 'mushy-mushy' stuff.

"Time… changes people." Mikasa muttered, noting his surprise, "It wasn't so… unexpected." She added on. Unlike Eren, she had observed the subtle things Connie would do or say to Sasha. Even though Connie would've criticised and playfully mock Sasha's love for her romantic shows—calling them 'icky icky, mushy-mushy stuff'—Mikasa had noticed the other minor ways, perhaps his teases or jokes, that had indicated his… feelings.

"I guess… you're right." Eren said, "But what'd I know anyway, it's not like I ever experienced…" His eyes carelessly slipped to Mikasa, who now faced him with a confused look when he didn't continue.

He couldn't continue. He couldn't finish his sentence. And he didn't know why his heart was beating a little faster. Why are you hesitating, Eren? He chided to himself internally, just say it! 'It's not like I ever experienced having a crush on someone.'

"I mean I've never been in a relationship so I... uh… wouldn't know anything." Was what he managed to say instead. The next thing he knew, he was going on a pointless ramble. "I mean… It's not like anyone's really told me they… you know, that they liked…" His cheeks got redder, and he found himself breaking eye contact with Mikasa when she began to look rather intrigued by what he was saying.

It was the first time Eren ever spoke about romance. Of course, she couldn't help but be a little curious.

"It's not... I… Armin's the only one among us three who ever experienced being in a confession…so maybe he would've seen that coming too..." He didn't even know what he was saying anymore, or where this conversation was leading to. "A-Anyway—!"

"Armin… didn't tell you?" Mikasa asked, looking towards Eren. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she had always found this side of the brunette rather amusing. She didn't know that talking about romance would've made him a stuttering mess—well, not like she wasn't the same.

"Tell me what?" Eren asked, hoping that whatever Mikasa was going to say would divert this topic away.

"Jean confessed to me the other day."

Eren froze in his steps, resulting in Mikasa to halt hers too.

Ten seconds passed by, and the silence came back.

Then thirty. The silence was still there, and Eren was still frozen. Mikasa waved her hand a little in front of his face, but she was met with no response.

A full minute went by. And it looked like that information was still processing in his brain.

Concerned by his sudden state, Mikasa called out to him. "Ere—"

She instantly felt her shoulders being gripped tightly as Eren shifted his position from her side, to her front to face her. "That horseface confessed?" He said, before his face drew closer to hers a little. "To you?"

Mikasa nodded hesitantly, and her eyes had been so focused on Eren's—whose emeralds looked at her way too intensely—that she had almost not noticed that they were still in a public space, and that they had suddenly caught some people's attention. Meanwhile, Eren didn't seem to take notice at all.

"What did he say? What did you say?" Eren asked—although, it sounded more of a demand. He even began to shake her shoulders a little unknowingly.

And because their faces were awfully close, Mikasa inevitably saw the anxiousness in his eyes. Was dating Jean… that bad?

Nonetheless, as much as she wanted to ask about it, she rather be out of the spotlight situation Eren had accidently placed her in first. "E-Eren…" Mikasa stuttered, "We're… in public…" And it seemed Eren only noticed it when she mentioned it.

Upon realising how he was overreacting over something so 'trivial', his cheeks burned in embarrassment and his hands finally let go of its grip of Mikasa's shoulders. He spun around and away from her direction, and before Mikasa could say anything else he quickly excused himself. "I have to use the toilet." He said rather curtly, before making a beeline to the men's without waiting for her response.

A thousand things dashed in his mind as he splashed the running tap water onto his face.

Why did I react like that? Why did my heart… feel so anxious? For her answer? Hell, I didn't even get her answer… I mean, it's not like… I just… I don't want her to date Jean because he's a damned shitty bastard—

But if it had been another guy, a nicer guy, would you have reacted the same? Would you mind her dating him? Another voice chimed inside his head, and he found himself unable to answer. Surely, if Mikasa dated a nice guy, he, as her friend, shouldn't mind it right?

And yet he found himself unable to not mind it.

He found his hand sub-consciously clenching his chest. What is this feeling? He wondered as he thought back to the brief conversation he had with Mikasa before her reveal of Jean's confession—their conversation on romance, and how he stuttered when answering.

It's just talking about romance, why am I so... with her...I…

Fucking hell, what is this feeling? And why am I feeling it?


While Eren sorted the mess currently occurring in his heart in the men's, Mikasa waited for him nearby, wondering why he suddenly ran off like that.

Was it embarrassment? She thought. After all, there were some people who did stare at them when Eren had gotten all panicky when she mentioned Jean's confession.

His cheeks were red, though. She pondered. Could he be… jealous? Or worried that I said yes because—

"No, no, no, Mikasa. You're overthinking." She assured herself—she didn't want to get too head of herself. The idea of Eren actually like her back seemed…unfathomable. For one thing, she was aware of how dense he could be to emotions like these. It took him a while to finally understand the sentimental value behind the scarf he gave her, behind his actions. So of course, it was unlikely he'd ever know her crush on him anytime soon, much less have romantic feelings for her or anyone else for that matter… right?

Mikasa didn't know. And as her mind had been too deep in thought over this subject matter, she didn't sense an ominous presence approaching her.

"It's been a while, Mikasa."

It was only until did Annie speak, did Mikasa turn around, finally noticing her presence. And just as Annie had predicted, her first response to her greeting with a cold, solid glare. Any redness of her cheeks that had been caused by Eren drained, and the fluttery feelings caused by him soon twisted into animosity thanks to her.

"Annie." She begrudgingly acknowledged, her tone not any less cold.

While waiting for her reply, Mikasa found herself unable to come up with any reasonable reason as to why Annie would approach her. They didn't have the best relationship in high school, and the relationship between them only became increasingly tensed the moment after her and Armin's break-up.

How could she break his heart?—it was a question Mikasa could never answer, nor understand. To her knowledge, she knew that before Armin's heartbreak, everything between them seemed smooth. She didn't see any troubles in their relationship, at least on Armin's part. And as much as she didn't particularly like Annie, she admittedly didn't think she was the type to cheat.

In the end, she just assumed she got bored of Armin, that she was the one to blame for the end of their relationship. What other explanations could there be? Armin had always been nice to her, and to Mikasa's knowledge, he had done nothing wrong in the relationship. So all she could assume that it was Annie that toyed with Armin's heart… right? Why else did Armin cry to her and Eren so much that day?

"I was hanging out with Armin earlier." Mikasa tensed. What? She thought. However, before she could respond, Annie held up a hand up to stop her. "As friends." She added.

Mikasa frowned. As friends. She had always been bewildered, at how Armin wanted to maintain an amicable relationship with her despite all the hurt she put him through.

Mikasa had been against it—them being friends and maintaining contact—in fear that he'd go through the cycle of hurt again if Annie ever played with his feelings again. But in the end, she had let him be, believing or at least hoping Armin would've been smart enough not to fall for whatever trick she might have in stall for his heart in the future. Besides, it wasn't really her place to meddle too much.

"What do you want from me, Annie?" She asked, her arms crossed. "…Whatever it is, I hope that you're not planning to—"

"'To get back with Armin and break his heart again.' Was that what you wanted to say?" She scoffed, before taking a step closer to Mikasa. And as intimidating as her aura grew, Mikasa didn't flinch. "What do you want, Annie?" She repeated, her tone threatening, to which Annie found amusing in her own way.

"I want you to stop glaring at me, and blaming me for things that aren't true. And most of all, I want him to stop hesitating." She said, and Mikasa's brown arched in slight confusion. What did she mean by 'things that aren't true'? And who was 'him'?

As her lips parted, about to query, Annie had already began to answer. "I am not the 'evil villain' you think I am for breaking up with Armin. I broke up with Armin because he was still in love with you."

In less than a second since Annie said that, Mikasa's glare softened, disappeared and changed into both looks of confusion and denial.

What?


Author's note: I know this chapter is messy and shit and I'm sorry T_T, I was in a rush since its wayyy past its due date. I'll fix it when I have time… speaking of time, the next update date for this is in END-MAY or JUNE. Why?—you may ask.

Honestly when I was forced into entered this school that I am in, I didn't expect for my life to be so damn busy. Even as I am currently on a mini break, they dump a lot of homework and it's stressful. I hate it but that's life. And sometimes it just really makes me lose interest in writing (even though my writing is shit LMAO) sigh. I would like to thank all the supportive reviews though, it really means a lot to me.

Also honestly I think this fanfic is a mess, and to be fair maybe it's because I never been in a relationship before LMAO. But yeah, and I would've really revamped it if I had more time. But alas, school is a pain. No time. I prefer my writing on bloodlust (another aot fanfic), and heck, do I hope that fanfic doesn't go downhill :p.

On a different note, I finally managed to explore Eren's feelings more so look forward to that.

Just in case I don't update this fanfic anytime soon, I have a tumblr: rosaline-kei ; where you can contact/message me if I ever go on a damn long unsaid hiatus

Anyway, Thank you for reading! Please Leave A Review! Constructive criticism is great.