Link to the playlist with all the music is on my profile and Chapter 2 beginning A/N. Sorry for the lack of humor, but we've got to have SOME character development.

It was a lazy Friday afternoon, with Eren sitting on his bed and gently strumming his guitar while I organized my music. Nothing calmed me more than stacking the sheets in order of composer and style, sticking color-coded labels onto brand new binders and filing away sheet after sheet.

Yes, I have weird methods of relaxation. Deal with it.

I was searching for the second movement of a sonata that seemed to have disappeared when my phone rang. Eren jumped, an unpleasant chord twanging from his guitar.

"Jesus Christ, Armin," he breathed like the roof had just fallen on his head. But I was paying absolutely no attention because the caller ID read nothing other than 'Annie Leonhart'.

"Hello?" I said, trying my best not to stammer.

"Hey," her soft voice replied, barely audible even though both our surroundings were quiet. "You free?"

I did that whole gaping-like-a-fish thing again. Annie wanted to hang out? No way-

"Reiner and Bertholdt want to rehearse."

I had to consciously keep myself from screaming in frustration. I jumped to conclusions way too fast. Regardless, I had been planning to go shopping with Eren right about now. (yes, I'm aware of how 'girly' that sounds, but if you're creating gender roles the whole world will be on your case, and also, we weren't shopping for clothes.)

"Don't even think about canceling on me," Eren warned as if he could read my mind. "Don't you dare."

"Fine," I sighed. "Sorry, Annie, but I'm going out with Eren."

"Oh, congratulations."

"What? Oh, no, not like, we're going out!" I stammered. "I just meant, like, shopping-"

"I know," she said crossly. "Can't you take a joke? Also, shopping?"

"We're buying Jean's Christmas present!" I huffed. "Which is a keyboard. So please don't say 'gayyyyyyyyy" right now."

Eren looked up. "Some conversation you're having there."

"What is up with you today?" Annie growled. "You're usually such a ray of sunlight."

"Nothing!" I exclaimed. "Seriously though, nothing."

"I really want to rehearse with you but I don't want to let Eren down."

Yeah, like I could say that.

There was a long pause on Annie's end. Finally, she said in an almost-but-not-quite tentative voice, "When are you leaving?"

"Oh, um, in about five minutes."

"Mm," she murmured. "Cool."

"Here's a hint," Eren whispered. "Ask her to come with us."

"How do you even know what she's saying?!" I hissed back.

"Your reactions are so easy to read," he said with a shrug. "Now say it."

Eren was usually spot-on when it came to… well, anything besides maybe academics, so it would probably just be a waste to not follow his advice. Besides, he was nodding vigorously with this insane grin on his face, and who could resist that?

I took a deep breath. "Doyouwannacomewithus?"

"...What?"

"D-do you wanna come?" I managed to choke out. "With us. Store. Keyboard. Let's go."

Eren started laughing silently, which did not help the situation at all.

"Uh, sure," Annie said. "Again, are you okay?"

"Yes, I assure you I'm positively fine," I mumbled. burying my face in my hands. "Mikasa's coming too, so she can take you to the store. See you there?"

"'Kay, bye."

A thought suddenly struck me. "Wait, how do you even know my phone number?"

"Mikasa."

And with that cryptic statement, Annie hung up.

"Alright, Mr. Ultra-Smooth," Eren said, packing up his guitar. "Let's get going."

"Why do you need your guitar?" I asked, choosing to ignore his comment. "You're not playing, are you?"

"You never know," he said with the faintest smile.

"Something's up, isn't it?" I pressed on, hurrying after him as we walked out of the dorm.

Eren made a soft humming noise. "Not really."

"Wait - which music store are we going to?"

"Bingo."

It actually made sense. Eren worked at an instrument store part-time, where he attracted customers just by sitting behind the counter and singing. His boss would probably have fired him already if he wasn't gifted at customer servicing (nice talent to have) and a lot of customers stuck around just to listen to him.

See, this is what I mean about my friends. If I sat around a music store playing violin, I'd probably get some weird looks and be fired within a week.

We walked in silence, Eren singing under his breath and glancing at the familiar sights like it was the first time he had seen them. He was so happily oblivious, he could have been mistaken for a kid if not for his undoubted manliness.

After about ten minutes, we reached the store sign written in quaint lettering. Eren shoved open the door, and the working employee broke into a smile as the bell rang.

"Hey, Eren. Nice timing, your friend just got here."

He immediately perked up. "Really?"

There were a few people browsing the aisles, but I could already guess which one he was so excited about.

Said person was facing away from us, hunched over at an old upright piano that badly needed tuning - the only traditional piano I could see in the store, actually. I recognized the peaceful tone of Chopin's Nocturne in E-flat Major, played with delicate mastery. Every trill was perfectly placed, all the chords falling at exactly the right time, yet there was a certain freeness to the notes as they wound their way around the instruments sitting on racks and the books sitting in neat stacks.

"Who's this?" I asked Eren in a hushed voice. Somehow, it felt wrong to disturb the steady stream of music flowing from the piano.

"Levi," he answered simply, his gaze not moving from where they were fixated on the man's back.

"Yeah, knowing his name is so helpful," I answered in an attempt at sarcasm.

Eren opened his mouth to reply, but at that moment the music stopped, and I realized all of a sudden that the song was over.

"Hey, Eren," Levi said, turning around. His face was small and defined, with angular cheekbones and a pointy chin. He had black hair that was closely cropped to a neat undercut and his steel gray eyes were small and narrow with lines etched into the skin below, making it seem like he had been frowning for his whole life.

When he stood up, it became apparent just how small he was - shorter than me, actually. Yet he walked purposefully and steadily in a way I could never manage.

"Who're you?" he asked with a sharp nod in my direction.

"I'm Eren's roommate, Armin Arlert," I said with what I hoped was a genuine smile. "Nice to meet you."

He nodded in brief acknowledgement and turned his attention back to Eren. "It's not your shift, why're you here?"

"Shopping for a keyboard, actually," he replied. "It's a while until Christmas, but we just managed to save up the money and I'll probably waste it unless we get something now."

"At your own store?" Levi said skeptically. "You're basically giving money to yourself, you know."

Eren laughed in a way that made it clear this had been his intention from the start, and I couldn't help but chuckle along. Levi somehow managed to seem amused but didn't so much as crack a smile.

The laughter died down, leaving an awkward space to fill. Eren was too busy being distracted and I figured Levi would more likely die than say something right then, so I cleared my throat and spoke up.

"So, um, that was some nice Chopin you were playing."

Levi looked up. "You play classical music?"

"Yeah, violin. Do you play anything other than piano?"

"No."

He spoke so bluntly, in as few words as possible, that it was nearly impossible to continue a conversation with him. I couldn't tell whether he absolutely despised me or not, but he seemed to be acting pretty much the same with Eren.

Luckily, the ringing of the store bell put an end to our awkward not-conversation. And even luckier, the people walking inside were Annie and Mikasa.

"Hello, Armin," Annie said softly as she closed the door behind her. "What are we shopping for again?"

"Hello?" Eren cut in. "I exist too, you know!"

Annie stared at him blankly. "Sorry, what's your name?"

Eren sighed resignedly and dragged Mikasa and Levi off. "You guys can help me look for a keyboard while they're, ah, busy."

Annie tossed her head indifferently, and once more I couldn't help but be reminded of a proud stallion - powerful beyond words, wild with the icy fire behind her eyes, and unquestionably the leader of the herd.

"Levi's playing kind of reminds me of you," I said, flipping through a book of famous Beethoven pieces. "It's so emotional, but still in control."

"I suppose I should be flattered, then," she replied slowly, picking up the next book in the set, Haydn. "He's much more skilled than I am."

"He's older, and might be majoring in music," I reminded her.

She nodded slightly, and put back the book with slightly trembling hands. I stared after her helplessly as she walked over to the piano and sat down at the bench, staring contemplatively at the rows of black and white. Her fingers, so gentle, so pale, pressed down on one key after another like each one was made of glass. They meandered, playing nothing in particular, wandering over ivory and ebony in a colorful array of notes. It was more than a random tune should have been. It was almost like music.

I approached her from behind, watching as her fingers traveled up the keys like they were born to do this. It was like she'd been a pianist in another life and had only brought the last remnants of her knowledge into this one. She was a child on the piano for the first time, and yet she was the experienced musician who drew crowds of thousands to her.

I didn't notice Levi had joined me until he spoke in just above a whisper, gazing down critically over the back of her head at her fingers, entranced in a puppeteer's dance.

"She doesn't play piano." It was a statement.

I nodded in agreement. "And yet…"

"Musical ability transcends all instruments," he said. "But this is different. It's like-"

"I was born to play the piano."

Annie spoke without looking up, but even the words escaped her lips her fingers stumbled and sprawled on the keyboard. She stood up slowly, looking at the piano like it was made of thorns, and turned around to face Levi.

"If I had chosen that, would I have been better? Would I have been like you?" She stared right at him, lips pursed, eyes cold and still somehow pleading, tell me.

"Is it not enough to play what I love? Are my wings clipped as long as I play violin? I wouldn't know, because apparently I made the wrong choice."

Neither of us said a word as Annie stalked away, her footsteps never faltering as she went over to look at the violins.

"She's being overdramatic," Levi concluded. "The only thing she was born to do was play music. Piano, violin, doesn't matter."

"Not necessarily," I said slowly. "For example, if you have good pitch, string instruments and such work. If you have good coordination, piano and other two-handed instruments would be best."

Levi sniffed and sat down on the bench. "It doesn't matter. Tell her not to regret her choice. She can't undo years of practice."

"That's the thing!" I complained. "She's so good at violin - most musicians would give anything to have her talent. She couldn't be much better at piano than she is at violin!"

"You're so angry about this," Levi observed. "On her behalf?"

"I-"

"Hey, guys, stop having deep conversations without me!" Eren interrupted, appearing out of nowhere. His smile was benign at first glance, but living with him for so long had taught me to recognize his emotions at once. So I could say for certain that right now, Eren was jealous. Green as a leaf with envy. I frowned at him, trying to catch his attention, but he was either ignoring me or focusing on Levi.

Said man shrugged. "Can't imagine even having a normal conversation with the likes of you. Also, that girl with the scarf is staring at me like she wants to murder me."

"Her? That's Mikasa," Eren said offhandedly. "If she glares at you like that, she's either really interested in you or hates your guts."

"Good to know."

I left the two of them alone to chat (I'd rather not get murdered by Eren and his green-with-envy face), making my way over to where Annie was talking with one of the employees.

"Yes, this violin is one of our best, very finely crafted…"

"Can I play it, or not?" Annie said impatiently.

"What? Oh, yeah, sure." She handed the violin and the bow to Annie, who raised them into position and prepared to play. As if on cue, a collective hush fell over the store.

I didn't recognize the song at once, but the employee apparently did.

"Sonata for Violin solo no. 2 in A minor, Grave," she whispered with a delighted smile on her face. "I've never heard anyone play it like this before."

It was different than how she'd played Haydn for me in the practice room. Here, there was no spotlight. She wasn't playing it for me, for anybody. If I could see through her eyes, I would see nothing - she was totally immersed.

The melody was soulful, haunting, with dark contrasts between low and high notes. I could imagine her in all her stallion-like glory, the great Annie Leonhart, playing on the violin like she was singing. But I was only imagining; the Annie here was desperate to reassure herself, desperate to promise herself that this was it. This was how good she could be, no matter what instrument she played.

When the song ended, she seemed almost surprised to see both me and the employee staring at her. "Well, thanks," she mumbled, and handed back the violin and bow to the employee before yanking up her hood and shuffling towards the door.

"Annie, wait!" I called, catching up to her. "You didn't even help to look for a keyboard."

She gave me a poisonous look. "I came here to kill time, and I think I've killed all my time and maybe more than that."

"Like what, your self-esteem?" I snapped, then immediately clapped my hand over my mouth. But that couldn't take back the words I just said.

Annie, though didn't seem bothered at all. "Who knew? Even you can throw an insult once in a while."

I exhaled in relief. "Well, will you stay?"

She looked back at the aisles filled with people - Eren standing awkwardly to the side as Mikasa and Levi glared each other to pieces, the guitar lying forgotten on the top of the piano, the employee who'd been helping them find a keyboard looking rather confused.

"I suppose," she breathed. "Just...introduce me to all your friends. It's hella awkward only knowing you and Mikasa."

"Please, I don't even know Levi!" I laughed, beyond relieved. "Come on, let's go."

Although she didn't once crack a smile or say more than four words in a row, Annie seemed more cheerful after that. Maybe it was just way the sunlight hit her, but she somehow seemed brighter, more confident. Even if just a little, the stallion had returned.

"Thanks for today," she said to me at the checkout as Eren did his little thing of being both the customer and the cashier. "I… well, it didn't suck."

I chuckled. "Good to know."

And it really was. Being the reason Annie's day didn't suck felt nicer than it should have, just like how her piano playing was more beautiful than it should have been, even though her heart was still a tad colder than it should be for someone so kind.

(I'll warm it up for you, Annie.)

There's actually a whole side story about Eren and Levi swimming around in my brain. I'll write it up after I finish this. Anyway, the two stories directly affect each other, so you will be seeing some of what Eren's going through even in this story.

Favorite, follow, and review, please! I will give you a lock of Annie's hair (no, jk, you get cookies like a normal person.) Also, next chpater is hopefully going to be fluffier. :)