Armin and Annie stood side by side as they watched some of the larger families move what few belongings they had left into their new homes. Each home had two stories, and every family had either the upper or the lower story all to themselves.
"Five months of work and all we have to show for it is four homes" Annie said, a tinge of annoyance in her voice.
"In our defense we aren't construction workers or architects, but they don't seem to mind" Armin pointed out, his eyes traveling to the sight before them. A small boy happily tugged on his mother's skirt and jumped up and down, while the mother wasted no time in ushering her excited child inside.
Watching the families who seemed to have a new sense of hope did help to wash away some of Annie's irritation, but Armin could still see she was bothered, "Let's go on a walk" he suggested, while placing his hand on the small of her back to move them in the opposite direction.
They were both quiet, only the sound of dry grass and leaves crunching underneath their boots could be heard until Armin spoke, "Seems like things somehow managed to get busier after that night."
"Funny how that works" Annie said quietly, even though she really didn't find it funny at all.
It was true, after their shared kiss that sealed their relationship, the weather began to get colder and the camp leader realized they needed to work harder to get some houses up. Because of this Armin and Annie couldn't see one another as much, far too tired at the end of every day of work to do anything.
Annie would be lying if she said she hadn't missed Armin, though she interacted with him during the work day. Though she cherished those small moments, they just didn't feel like enough now that they were together.
Armin must have been able to read her thoughts, "I'm sorry we haven't had much alone time lately, but listen to this, I've heard in Paradis there's an office that has cases of belongings from families whose homes got destroyed. And well, I was wondering if you'd like to go with me to see?" he offered in a hopeful tone.
Annie was surprised at his request, she had never heard of such a thing being available to people. "Yes, I'd like that. When do you want to go?" she asked.
"I was thinking at the end of this week when the import ship arrives from Paradis we could hitch a ride" Armin said, his bright mind running through the details in his head.
"That works, I'll tell Dad about it but we should probably lay low while we're there" Annie figured, knowing he would understand what she was alluding to.
Armin sighed deeply before answering, "Yes we will, it's important we wear plain clothes too" he decided along with her.
Annie huffed before saying, "Because we usually dress so colorfully?" with an amused look on her face.
"You got me there" Armin said with a laugh, as he wrapped his arm around Annie's waist and pulled her close.
Annie leaned into his as they continued walking with no particular destination in mind, "What are you hoping to find?" she asked him.
"I don't really know, anything would be nice honestly. As I've gotten older, memories of how my parents looked have faded so something to jog my memoir of them would suffice" Armin mused, his grip on her tightening slightly.
"I bet they'll have something for you, especially since I was able to find something precious in this wasteland" Annie assured him.
Armin hummed in agreement and pressed his lips to the top of her head, now feeling much more hopeful about returning to his former home.
Friday morning rolled around and the ringing of the boat horn sounded throughout the camp, that was just beginning their day. The boat pulled into the docking area and dropped its anchor, at the same time, men immediately began unloading crates of goods.
Armin stood at the base of the dock, dressed simply in a brown suit with a white undershirt and a brown fedora hat to help conceal his honey colored hair. Annie had yet to arrive and while he waited Armin found the man who appeared to be in charge.
"Good morning, I'm Armin, thank you for coming by today" he greeted.
The man seemed unimpressed but acknowledged Armin anyway, "Yeah well it's my job, is there something you need?" he asked.
"I was wondering if myself and one other person could ride back to Paradis on your ship? We won't be any trouble" Armin assured the man.
"This isn't a cruise ship boy" The man said back angrily now that he knew what Armin wanted.
The man then turned to leave but Armin stopped him by grabbing his shoulder, "I don't have any money on me right now, but once we arrive I'll head straight to the bank and withdraw the amount that we decide on" Armin quickly said on the fly.
The man raised his brow and then smirked, "Alright, let's talk then"
Annie arrived shortly after dressed in a white long sleeve shirt with a tan cardigan, and a knee length skirt along with her usual black boots. Pieck had been kind enough to let Annie borrow some of her clothes, and to not ask any questions about why she needed them. She had even given her a light grey silk scarf to try and hide her blonde hair, but Annie was saving that til it was absolutely necessary.
It had been so long since Annie had worn anything besides pants and her white hoodie, and was uncomfortable to say the least. But today was for Armin and if being there for him required her to wear a skirt, then so be it.
"Annie, over here!" Armin called from his spot with a big wave.
"I see you silly" Annie thought to herself, as she made her way over to him.
"Good morning, are you ready for today?" Armin asked optimistically.
"I should be asking you that, today is for you" Annie replied back honestly.
Armin's face softened and he was about to reply when the horn of the ship sounded once more. "That's our cue, let's go ahead and board" Armin decided, as he extended his hand out to her.
Annie didn't reply, she only grabbed onto his hand and let him guide her aboard.
Once Armin, Annie, and the rest of the ship workers were all back on the ship, they began their voyage back to Paradis. "They said it shouldn't take more than two hours to get there" Armin reiterated, as he came and stood next to Annie, who was leaned up against the rails of the ship.
"That's fine with me, how are you feeling?" Annie asked quietly, her blue eyes moving from the water surrounding them to the man next to her.
"I won't lie, I'm nervous. But worst case scenario there's nothing for me and we end up spending the day together, and that's not bad at all" Armin said with a small smile, trying his best to stay positive.
Annie could see that Armin really was anxious about the whole ordeal, and she wanted more than anything for it all to work out for him. Not confident in her ability to express this in words, Annie wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest.
Armin returned her embrace and when Annie felt him relax in her arms, she knew he would be okay.
Two hours went by swiftly on the ship and Annie was now waiting on the dock next to an irritated ship worker, while Armin ran into the bank. Armin came out of the bank with an envelope and discretely handed it to the man, who opened it right away. He appeared to be counting in his head and once he was satisfied, he nodded at Armin and went back to the ship.
Annie gave Armin a knowing look and the blonde man chuckled nervously, "Gotta do what you gotta do" and then asking, "Should we get coffee first?"
"Naturally" Annie said with a smirk, trying to keep the mood light along with him.
Armin offered his arm, and Annie took it by wrapping her hand around his elbow. He took them to a coffee shop that he remembered being popular as a child, and they got in line to order.
Things were fine, until the couple started to feel many sets of eyes staring in their direction. Annie gave his elbow a squeeze, and Armin understood the nonverbal communication.
"One black coffee and one coffee with cream and extra sugar, thank you" Armin politely said to the cafe worker, who thankfully didn't give them any trouble.
They got their coffees and promptly left the cafe, "That could have been worse" Armin pointed out, as he gingerly took a sip of his warm drink.
"It could've, thank you for the coffee" Annie said, while trying her own as well.
"Let's take our time walking over there, it's still early and they might not be open" Armin suggested.
Annie had a feeling that he was trying to delay visiting the office but decided against making a comment about it. "That's fine, we've got plenty of time" she assured him.
A few hours later their coffee cups were empty and the couple finally made their way to the office. It was located in a cobblestone building with no name but a number on the door to indicate the address, "This is the place" Armin announced, before they stepped inside.
The office was dimly lit and the only person inside was an older man who was sitting at a wooden desk and smoking a cigarette. Armin walked slowly towards the man, "I assume you're here to collect some belongings, last name?" the older man asked, as he stood up.
"Arlert, we lived in Shiganshina if that helps at all" Armin added.
The man's scruffy eyebrows raised once he realized who he was talking to, "You ought to be careful while you're in town, some people here have a real problem with you. Personally, I have no issues, as far as I'm concerned you saved us all from the titans and helped free us. Now let me go see if there's anything for you" he said before heading to the back of the office.
Annie came and stood next to Armin and placed a comforting hand on his back, "That went better than I expected" she pointed out.
Armin nodded in agreement and the older man then came shuffling out of the back office with a file box in his hands. "This is all I have for you young man" he said, while handing the box over to him.
Armin's heart was pounding when he accepted the box, he muttered a "thank you" and swiftly left the office with Annie.
"Do you want to open it here or?" Annie asked with her voice trailing off.
"Let's go to the bench over there" Armin said, his head motioning towards a bench underneath a large oak tree.
They sat down under the shade provided by the tree, and Armin placed the box in his lap and took off his hat. His hands were trembling slightly as he took off the top of the box. The first things the couple's eyes fell on was a small jewelry box, and a folder full of papers.
Armin opened the folder and thumbed through all the documents inside, "Looks like old bills and taxes stuff" Armin murmured until, "Here's my birth certificate" he said, while pulling it from the folder.
He handed it to Annie and she scanned over it, "Armin Arlet, born November 3rd at 5:29 AM, 5 lbs 9oz" she read aloud with a tender look on her face.
"My grandpa told me that I was born about a month early and that's why I was so little" Armin explained with a small laugh, as Annie handed the certificate back to him.
He slid it back into the folder and then moved on to the jewelry box, which opened from the top and had two small drawers underneath. Armin gently opened the top of the box and was met with his own reflection due to the mirror inside.
He then saw a few multicolored bracelets stacked on top of each other, as well as two familiar golden wedding bands. Armin's mind went back to a simpler time when he'd see the matching rings on his parents fingers.
"I don't remember my parents being very affectionate with each other, but they always had these on" Armin recalled, as he held the rings and ran his fingers over the smooth metal.
"That means they were loyal to one another nonetheless" Annie acknowledged.
"They were, all the way to the end. But I guess I didn't fit into that equation" Armin muttered quietly.
It was difficult seeing Armin look so torn up and Annie wanted to comfort him, but before she could Armin placed the rings back in the jewelry box and closed it. "I'm glad to have these now, but I really don't want to be sad about it right now. I'd rather live in the present and enjoy the rest of the day with you" Armin declared, as he placed all the items back in the file box and stood up.
"Let's go eat lunch" Armin then requested, with his hand reaching out for Annie. Who took it without question and she chose to just follow his lead for the rest of the day.
Annie understood why Armin didn't want to dwell too much on the contents of the file box and the memories that came along with it. But at the same time, she knew that holding all those feelings in wasn't good for Armin physically or mentally. But for now she would fulfill his request of spending the rest of the day together.
Which was spent discreetly walking around Paradis and taking in all the new changes. Much of the island remained the same but without the walls it looked much different. Smaller almost.
But even without the walls surrounding him, it somehow felt more suffocating than it ever was before. "This isn't my home anymore" Armin thought to himself.
He then looked to Annie, who was walking along next to him and all his negative thoughts began to subside.
"I'm ready to go home, what about you?" Armin asked her.
"I am if you are" Annie agreed simply.
Annie may not have realized it, but when Armin referred to home.
He wasn't just talking about the structures being built on Marley.
He was talking about her.