As per Annie's request, Armin visited the camp doctor the next morning and was given more pain medicine and a pair of crutches. And then he spent the next week on bed rest, which he didn't realize he needed so much until he slept through the entire first day.
Reiner or Jean would come by and bring Armin breakfast and lunch, and get instructions for the work day from him to relay to everyone else. But just like before, Annie would come and bring him dinner and check on him.
Armin looked forward to seeing her every night and hearing about the day through her point of view. And during this time it became a regular thing for them to end the night by cuddling close to each other.
Annie never meant to spend the night but whenever she settled in next to Armin she couldn't bring herself to get up. The nightmare free sleep she got with him was worth the teasing she got from her dad the next morning.
After his week of bed rest, Armin went back to working even though he could only lead meetings and delegate tasks from his crutches. During this time he also began planning something special for Annie as a thank you for taking care of him when he needed it.
Armin also had an important question for her that had been weighing heavily on his mind.
Asking her to be his girlfriend felt trivial and it just didn't do their connection justice. Moreover, he wanted to confess his feelings to Annie, ask her to be with him, ask her to join him on his travels, ask her to be his family, and so much more.
So Armin began doing what he did best, making a plan. He started by requesting a few extra things on their monthly import from the neighboring countries, and then asking Jean and Pieck to take care of the camp that day. Once those things were taken care of Armin took on what he thought the most difficult task would be, talking to Annie's father.
Armin knew that he didn't necessarily have to ask Annie's dad if he approved of them being together. But he was Annie's only family, so Armin wanted to get along with him and prove himself if needed.
Due to his bad leg, Mr.Leonhart worked in the repairs area which allowed him to still contribute to the rebuilding process. He was seated on a tall stool in front of a long wooden table, working to fix parts of one of the boats when Armin decided to ask him.
"Um, Mr.Leonhart?" Armin asked unsurely, not knowing how to approach the older man.
Not recognizing the voice, Annie's father set his tools down and turned around, "Wow, the man himself! What can I do for you Armin?" he asked.
After seeing his relaxed reaction, Armin gained back some of his confidence to ask, "It's about Annie, could we speak somewhere more quiet?" the clanging of tools sounding throughout the area.
Mr.Leonhart agreed and both men went in the direction of an empty table in the dining area, one on crutches and the other using a cane. Armin pointed this out and they both shared a laugh.
Once they sat down Mr.Leonhart spoke first, "So what about Annie did you want to talk about?" his voice more serious now.
"Well I know how important you are to her and I wanted to respect that and ask you first" Armin said, and then inhaled and exhaled deeply before asking, "I want to be with your daughter, but I wouldn't feel right asking before I received your approval first".
Mr.Leonhart's dark eyes went wide and then softened when he heard the genuineness of Armin's words. "I appreciate you coming to me first, but in the end it's really up to Annie" he explained, which caused Armin's expression to slightly falter.
He saw this and quickly added, "But I do approve of you Armin, I don't know what you've done but Annie seems a lot more at ease these days. And the dark circles under her eyes aren't as bad as usual. You clearly bring her peace, which is something she's always been missing. So just keep being that for her and I'll have no problems" Mr.Leonhart said, while reaching over and squeezing Armin's shoulder.
Armin was relieved when he heard those words and nodded furiously and then proceeded to tell him the plan that he had to ask her.
"I don't doubt that she'll be overwhelmed but I like the way you're thinking young man. I expect a report back as soon as possible!" Mr.Leonhart said as he stood up.
"Of course, thank you again Mr.Leonhart. If this works out I promise to do my best for her" Armin said wholeheartedly.
"I'm glad to hear it, I'll see you soon Armin" Mr.Leonhart said, while extending his hand out. Armin did the same and they exchanged a handshake before Mr.Leonhart headed off back to work.
Now that Armin had the items he needed ordered, his work covered that day, and Mr.Leonhart's approval, now he just had to focus on getting off his crutches.
The day he picked was about two and a half weeks away which gave enough time for the imports to arrive and for Armin's foot to heal. To help speed up his recovery, Armin put an ice pack on his foot as often as he could and kept it elevated and began easing into putting pressure on it once again.
His diligence paid off and the morning of, Armin was able to walk without his crutches and only a slight limp every so often. The first thing he did was write a small note for Annie that asked her to meet him at their usual spot on the shore of the beach at sunset. Armin enlisted Gabi and Falco to give the note to her since they had proved themselves trustworthy.
Armin spent the rest of the day preparing everything and trying not to overthink every move and decision he was making. Though he was pretty sure that Annie returned his feelings, his inferiority complex still caused him to have doubts.
Maybe he was asking for too much? Maybe she wasn't ready for a relationship? Maybe he was going to ruin what they already had.
But even with all those negative thoughts swirling in his head, Armin pushed forward with his plan.
Armin dressed in his best casual clothes and took the woven basket he packed out towards the shore. When he arrived, Armin laid out a grey quilt onto the sand and set the basket in the middle to hold it down. He then began setting up the small area as he had pictured it in his mind.
Armin had been so engrossed setting up that he hadn't noticed how much time had gone by and how the sun had begun to disappear for the day. He then panicked when he heard the sound of sand crunching underneath a pair of boots.
"Armin?" she called out quietly, not quite sure what was going on.
"Annie! Hi, I feel like we haven't talked a lot recently and I-I wanted to see you" Armin stammered out, his nerves coming back.
"I wanted to see you too, but you didn't have to do all this just to talk to me" Annie said, taken back by the set up in front of her.
On top of the quilt there was a large lantern in the middle that illuminated the shared space. Then on a small tray there was an assortment of different fruits and pastries, and was that a whole pie? What caught her eye even more was the bouquet of roses, were they for her? Annie couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by all he had done, but she also didn't want to assume the wrong thing from his actions.
Armin had kept to himself more recently and Annie worried that she had overstepped with all she had been doing with him. Her mind was racing whenever Armin's voice got her attention, "Do you want to sit down?" he asked, while gesturing to the quilt.
Annie nodded and tentatively sat down and Armin followed suit and sat next to her, leaving some space between them. "I'm sorry if I've been a little distant lately, I was working on this and getting my foot better" Armin admitted nervously, while rubbing the back of his neck.
Annie was relieved to know that he hadn't been ignoring her, "I'm glad your foot is better but, how… how did you get all this?" she asked, pointing to the foods and flowers.
"I requested them on the import sheet, some of the people gave me a hard time but sometimes letting them know who I am helps" Armin joked, and then began getting out the plates and silverware.
He cut her a slice and then handed it to her along with a fork, "I'm not sure which kind is your favorite, but you were eating apple pie that one time so I went with that" Armin explained, as he cut a slice for himself.
"I was so hungry then I would have eaten anything, but I like apple pie, thank you for getting it. I haven't had anything sweet in so long" Annie realized aloud, as she savored the sweetness of the green apples with the spice of the cinnamon.
"Of course, I wanted to do something to thank you for all that you've done for me" Armin told her, deciding to hold off on his confession for a little longer.
"I should be saying that to you, helping you when you're injured pales in comparison to visiting someone who can't talk or move for four years" Annie said back, her icy blue eyes peering over to him.
"That's completely different" Armin tried to reason, but Annie cut him off, "It is but that doesn't make it any less important, I've been lonely my entire life but that was a whole other level of loneliness. And both you and Hitch got me through it, so I'll keep helping you as much as you need" she promised him.
"And I'll do the same for you" Armin said back warmly.
They finished off their slices and then both had another when Annie's eyes drifted back to the bouquet of flowers. They were roses but it was odd, there were eleven red roses and one yellow.
"Armin, did the florist make a mistake and put a yellow one in the bouquet?" Annie asked him, surprised that they would make such an obvious mistake.
"It's no mistake, I asked them to do it like that" Armin said, as he reached over to grab the bouquet and then handed it to her.
Annie took them and admired them up close, taking in the deep floral scent they gave off. "Why did you do that?" she asked, curious about his reasoning.
"Well I read a book once about flowers and their meanings, and there were about four pages just for roses. And a bouquet like this one means both love and passion" Armin told her with a blush almost as red as the roses now dusting his cheeks.
Annie was speechless, never had someone done something so special for her. And the roses, did their presence mean what she hoped they did?
"Annie, there's another reason I asked you to come here. You've always been important to me, even when we were Cadets. And when you went into the crystal I was so confused and when we found out the truth, I felt so helpless. I wanted nothing more than to talk to you, but you were just suspended in time" Armin told her, he then turned his body so he was facing towards her before he spoke again. "But now that you're here, and you're free from the curse, I don't want to be without you. I want to stay by your side for as long as you'll let me".
Armin's confession almost felt too good to be true, but Annie could hear the conviction in his voice and she trusted that he would never lie to her about such a thing.
Worried that words would fail her, Annie did what she felt would be the next best thing. She reached out and tugged on the collar of Armin's shirt until their eyes met, and then pressed her lips to his.
Armin didn't move or kiss back, and Annie worried that she had just ruined the special moment he'd created. After a few beats she began to pull back, but was quickly stopped by Armin's gentle hand coming to cradle her face.
Emboldened by his move, Annie began to move her lips in a slow dance with Armin's. She placed one hand on his shoulder and entangled the other in his blonde locks.
Armin groaned slightly when he felt her nimble fingers in his hair, he then brought his other hand to Annie's waist to bring her closer.
The kiss lasted much longer than either expected, time seemed to melt away, it truly felt like they were the only ones in the world.
When they finally broke apart, both were breathless and struggling to regain their composure.
"Can I assume that was your answer?" Armin asked, while running his thumb over her cheek.
"You know me so well" Annie said back, showing a small smile that was just for him.
For the rest of the night Armin and Annie stayed on the shore of the beach, listening to the quiet crashing of the ocean waves while they discussed the future had to look forward to together.