(A/N: Beware of mushy fluff and slight angst!)
Chapter 18 Milk and naptimes
The very moment the blonde duo came back home they took a nice hot bath together to warm themselves up, got dressed in there PJs and went downstairs to curl up and sit by the fire place underneath Armin's blanket. It was pink, fluffy and had yellow kittens decorating it. "Are you okay? Annie asked Armin. Truth be told Armin was still very much shaken up from what happened to him earlier but he tried his best not to show it.
"I-im fine.." Armin trembled sniffling. He looked back to normal but his voice was still messed up,making Annie cringe a bit. Getting an idea, she went into the kitchen to rustle up something that might help him. A few minutes later, she came back from the kitchen smiling softly while holding something behind her back. "Annie?" Armin croaked raising an eyebrow.
"Remember this?" She asked pulling out something from behind her back. Armin's eyes widened a bit in surprise once he seen what it was."is t-that m-m-my..old..bab-by bottlleee?" He smiled. Yes, it was indeed a baby bottle. It was an adorable clear light pink baby bottle with black polkadots decorating it with a black rubbery top to it. Back when Armin was still in his baby stage, Annie would always fetch him a warm bottle of milk whenever he had a nightmare or something and feed him in an attempt to calm him down much to Armin's enjoyment.
"Yes it is!" Annie nodded."I was hoping it might help your throat " she added. Walking towards him, she sat down and pulled him into her lap. "A-Annie I'm n-nnnot a..babyyyy anymore" Armin rasped out blushing. "Well for the moment, pretend that you're my little baby" Annie grunted. "Now be a good little baby and drink your milk so you can feel better!" She ordered cradling Armin.
Armin blushed as he felt Annie shoved the nipple of the bottle in his mouth, but soon started to eat. The milk was very warm and sweet much to his pleasure, and he had to admit his throat was starting to feel alot better. He snuggled closer to Annie's body, basking in her warmth. He looked up at her cutely while she continued to nurse him. "Huh..it actually feels kind of nice being treated like a baby again" he thought closing his eyes in content.
"You freaking dork.." Annie growled blushing. Armin raised a questioning eyebrow at Annie in response as he suckled his bottle."Why must you be so damn cute?" She hissed blushing even further. Armin simply smiled and giggled a bit at this. "Hey.. You want to see something else?" Annie asked. Armin gently nodded while eating. His eyes widened when he seen Annie pull out his collar "MY COLLAR! You fixed it!" Armin squealed. His voice was healed and back to normal.
Armin smiled in glee as he put his mended collar back on."I guess that milk really did help after all!" Annie said. Whether if it was due to the bottle or Armin's doll healing ability he was completely fixed ! He then thought back to being found again."Annie..I really thought that you weren't going to ever find me" Armin whimpered looking up at his owner/lover. "I was so afraid!" He said "I didn't think that I would ever see you again! I truly thought I was going to be abandoned all over again in that forest!"
Annie put the bottle of milk down and seized Armin, bringing him into a protective loving embrace. "Never you fucking dork!" Annie cried with arms wrapped tight around the coconut haired doll."I could never live with myself knowing that you were left in some God forsaken forest again! No Armin..you're just too precious to me!" Annie cried stroking his hair."Fuck Armin...you're just way too precious for me to lose like that.."
Armin froze a bit at that sentence."where else have I heard that from I wonder?"
You're my most precious doll of them all..
"Armin?" Annie asked snapping Armin out of his thoughts. "Oh! Er, sorry Annie, I was just thinking about something was all" he replied smiling sheepishly. "What were you asking me?" He asked sucking from his baby bottle some more."do you..feel better enough to sing again? " she asked. "It's just that your voice was messed up the last time you did it so I was curious to see how it sounds now"
"You really want me to sing for you again?" He asked still sitting in her lap. "Yeah" Annie replied nodding. "If you feel okay enough to do it that is" she added. Armin then took the baby bottle out of his mouth and smiled. One little song couldn't hurt right?
"Hey, can you hear me? I called out your name
Where are you from? What is it that's brought you here?
Why wont you answer me? I swear to play nice
Isn't this fun? This game of hide-and-seek" he sang.
"I only wanted to hear your voice
Skin that's warm
Eyes that cry
I only wanted to see your smile
Feel your touch
It's been a while~!"
Annie smiled and listened in content as the doll sang sweetly in her lap. Licking his lips he sang some more.
"Long, long ago, I was a girl just like you
Father loved me, kept me safe and beautiful
Oh how I'd love to dance around just once more
But these cold legs don't move anymore" He finished.
"Nice pipes" Annie smiled."you sound really beautiful when you sing!" She exclaimed. Armin had to blush and crack a smile at this compliment."oh now you're just buttering me up" He replied. "No I'm serious!" Annie said as she still held Armin."you're really good" She reiterated making him grin some more."thank you Annie" Armin yawned. He must have been more tired than he realized.
"You want to go to bed? You look pretty worn out" Annie asked. "Sure" Armin yawned again" but ..can we stay by the fire and pretend that I'm a baby for a little bit longer? I kind of actually missed you feeding me like this" Annie chuckled and kissed his forehead. "Have it your way you dork" she replied. Armin sighed and closed his eyes in content as Annie continued to give him his bottle. He must have been hungrier than what he thought he was as well because within minutes that entire bottle of milk was chugged down.
Annie put it down once she noticed that he fell asleep."goodnight dork" the platinum blonde smirked. Wrapping him up in his blanket, she laid his head on her lap as she continued to relax in front of the fireplace.
~deep within Armin's subconscious ~
Armin slowly woke up to blinding sunlight. "What in the world?" The marionette muttered. Sitting up and looking around he noticed he was back in the forest again, but instead of it being the middle of autumn, it was during spring. Instead of colorful hues of red, orange, and yellow decorating the trees and dead leaves scattering the ground, there were flowers everywhere.
"W-what am I doing back here!?" He asked."and why on Earth is it daytime? " Looking down, he noticed that he was out of his pajamas and back in the same black corset outfit that he was wearing prior to his kidnapping. He then looked over to his right and blushed. Annie was laying next to him in doll form sleeping. She was clad in super elegant fancy white lingerie decorated with many bows and lace with a matching white wedding veil over her head. Like Armin, the doll wore a collar like him too except the pendant was white and had the words "For Armin" engraved there in cursive black letters.
"Holy shit.." Armin muttered taking in Annie Doll's appearance. Her golden wind up key glinted in the sunlight and her hair was down. Silently reaching a hand out to the female marionette, he carressed her face making her flinch. Annie Doll opened one sparkly eye and smirked looking at Armin. Grabbing Armin's hand, she pulled him down to the down with her and got on top of him. Taking him by surprise.
"Hello dork" Annie Doll smiled kissing Armin."h-hey.." Armin blushed holding her. "Pretty outfit" He said. Looking down, he happened to see that the fancy white panties of her outfit were open crotched, revealing that she, like him, was also an anatomically correct doll. Annie Doll chuckled and leaned over kissing his cheek."I like your face" Annie Doll replied. She then giggled and nibbled the boy doll's button nose."I gotcha nose" she joked.
Armin chuckled and nibbled her face back while sliding a hand between her thighs. " I got your flower" he flirted back. Annie Doll smiled and moved his hand away from her area."if you really want me.. " she muttered against his soft lips"then you'll have to come catch me!" She exclaimed. She then tapped him on the butt and ran away from him."Tag you're it!"
"Heyyy!" Armin giggled dashing after her. Annie Doll's laughter could be heard as she ran throughout the forest. Before long he could see that he was getting closer to her. Once he caught up to her, be could see that she was standing near an old worn cobblestone path waiting for him. The exact same one he was having that deja vu feeling about earlier. A small chill crept down Armin's doll spine but he ignored it, not wanting Annie Doll to notice.
"Are you okay?" Annie Doll asked."you look even more paler than usual" Armin quickly nodded and pecked her face not wanting her to worry."N-no..I'm okay..' The puppet lied." Want to play elsewhere? " he asked.
He really didn't want to be anywhere near this area."sure" Annie Doll smiled."tag! You're it!" She said tapping Armin on the nose and scurrying off once more. Armin gulped as Annie ran straight down the damaged path."well? What are you waiting for? Come catch me Armin!" Annie called back to him.
"Fuck my life" Armin muttered chasing Annie again."Annie! Annie wait up!" He called after her. He was really thankful that dolls didn't have to breathe cause if he were human he probably would have passed out due to running so much."come on let's play the somewhere else!" He called out to her. He froze once he finally found her.
Annie Doll was daintily sitting on the porch of a large light gray Gothic styled mansion waiting for him to catch her. He silently trembled as he stared up at the massive hulking figure of the house. It had to have been at least four to three stories tall.
"Okay, how about in here?" Annie Doll suggested still holding her wedding bouquet and smiling softly at him. Every nerve embedded in Armin's Doll skin screamed as he looked at the mansion. Despite it's luxurious splendor and the beautiful endless pink and blue Rose gardens surrounding it, there was definitely something ominous about this house. "Annie, I don't like this..please let's go somewhere else" he quietly pleaded.
Annie Doll pouted in a brattish manner at this."oh don't be a scaredy doll! " she replied. "Catch me if you can!" She laughed running inside the mansion. "Annie no!" Armin screamed. But it was too late, she had already disappeared into the darkness indoors."God dammit!" The pretty marionette cursed.
He slowly and silently made his way up the mansion's doorstep. He frightfully stared into the open door as if it were a giant' lion's mouth waiting to eat him if he dared stepped any further. Armin then looked back over his shoulder at the cobblestoned path.
He could still make a run for it away from this place if he wanted to. No one was necessarily forcing him to go in but on the other hand...
"I really don't want to leave Annie here.." He thought. Seeing that he had no other choice, he made up his mind and went forward, quaking violently in his corset and boots.
(A/N: awwww see how adorable was that sappy fluff at the beginning? =^.^= nothing like a warm fireplace and a hot bottle of milk to calm the baby coconut down! But what's this? Another dream sequence? A fragment of a lost memory perhaps? Time will only tell in the next chapter of "HPM" staty tuned!)
