Chapter Text
857 Marzamemi
The sun shone down on them from its peak and made the river sparkle. The water was just the right kind of cold after the long morning labor and laughter bounced off the banks.
Annie was smiling as she tread water and watched the other women play. Gabi and Mildred bounced a ball between them and Pieck, trying to keep Pieck from snatching it away from them while Francesca watched.
It had gotten a little easier this year, it looked like they were going to get a good crop and their livestock was thriving. And they had established tentative relationships with a few of the remaining nations, allowing some trade routes to open and their budding economy to bloom.
And in a month, Annie and the other ‘peace ambassadors’ would return to Paradis to try to broker a peace treaty with them. Or die trying. She wouldn’t put it past them to sink their boat when it was in sight.
But that was a problem she didn’t have to worry about today. Today she could enjoy basking in the sunshine and swimming until she got tired of it.
Annie noticed Francesa perked up and turned her attention away from Gabi’s game and followed her gaze. A rider had appeared over the hilltop and was heading in their direction. The sunlight made it difficult to tell who it was. Probably someone coming to ruin their fun.
“Hey, Annie! Your boyfriend’s here!” Francesa shouted.
Annie squinted against the glare to confirm, and sure enough it was Armin heading this way.
“He’s not my boyfriend!” Annie hollered back, swimming for the opposite bank where they’d scattered their clothing.
“She’s still in denial!” Pieck said, making a weak attempt at swatting the beach ball out of the air.
“He needs to be around more than once a month!” Annie shot back, climbing out of the water.
Armin had stopped his mare at a little tree nearby, frowning at the shouting…Or their partial nudity. Annie suppressed a smirk and abandoned her little pile of clothes and approached him. She heard splashing behind her to indicate her friends had followed.
She stopped a healthy distance away from Armin’s mare and crossed her arms. “Hey.”
Armin smiled, although he wasn’t looking at her. His eyes were clamped shut and he’d turned his head away. “Hi.”
“So, you got back from Haider early, huh?” Annie asked.
“It went well, they wanted provisions more than they wanted vengeance on Marley. I left Giovanni to fine tune the rest of the details.” Armin answered, his face was beginning to turn red.
“Hi, Commander!”
“Hello, Commander!”
Annie sighed as the others caught up with them. Mildred and Francesa leading the pack while Pieck lagged behind and Gabi pulled on a dress as she walked.
“Hello.” Armin answered, eyes still firmly closed. His fingers tapped a nervous pattern on his saddle horn.
“Annie! Did you invite the Commander to join us for a swim? The water’s lovely! And especially after such a long trip!” Mildred exclaimed.
“No, I didn’t.” Annie answered.
“Well why not? Commander, would you like to swim with us?” Mildred asked.
Mildred was beginning to irritate her but it wasn’t like Armin spent enough time with her to consider them exclusive…Even if he hadn’t seemed to take any other partners these past three years. However the way Mildred was looking at him was making her grind her teeth.
“No, thank you, Millie. I have to ask Annie something and get back to town.” Armin responded.
Gabi and Pieck had joined them and Gabi grinned excitedly. “Ask, Annie, what? ”
Annie glared at Gabi but she didn’t seem to care. Annie narrowed her eyes and Gabi’s grin only seemed to broaden.
“Something that’s better requested in private.” Armin said.
The other women–except for Pieck, she started snickering–seemed to deflate. “But–” Mildred started.
“Alright!” Pieck barked, startling the others. “Back into the water! Let’s leave these two alone!”
The others departed with minimal protests and Annie turned her glare to Armin.
“Would you look at me?” She requested with a flat tone.
“It’s better if I don’t.” Armin answered.
“It’s not anything you haven’t already seen on my titan.” Annie retorted.
Armin opened his eyes a little. “But not in such detail.”
“ ARMIN. ”
He chuckled to himself as his mare spooked and he calmed his mount. Smirking to himself all the while.
“What did you want? We were busy.” Annie said.
Armin flinched and his smirk faded. “Sorry to interrupt your fun. You don’t get a lot of downtime these days.”
Annie shifted on her feet and Armin continued.
“I went to see your father this morning–”
“What does dad have to do with anything?” Annie asked.
Armin sighed and part of Annie regretted interrupting him.
“And I asked if I could have his permission to court you officially.”
Courting, as in dating? With the intention to get married after a year? After three years of almost completely ignoring her?
“Again, what does dad have to do with anything? Why not just ask me?” Annie queried.
Armin shrugged. “To communicate. And to show respect to your father.”
“And what did he say?” Annie asked.
“He gave his blessing. And before you interrupt me again, now I want to ask your permission. Annie Leonhart, m-may I court you?”
His face had gotten redder and he was practically twitching off his saddle.
Annie glanced at the grass between her feet and thought for a moment. He’d shut her out after a month the first time they experimented with their relationship and she’d barely seen him since. What if he did it again? Or worse? Found someone else on Paradis when they were there in a month?
“Do I have to give you an answer right away?” Annie asked.
Armin’s eyes widened, but he didn’t show his disappointment. “No. Not if you want time to think about it.”
Annie nodded. “A little time, I haven’t seen much of you since you went off to reconcile Marzamemi to Fort Salta. And we’ve spoken even less than that, and then you show up out of the blue asking to court me? C’mon.”
“It’s a lame excuse, but I’ve been…Busy. Really,
really
busy.” Armin answered.
He was lying. Annie realized she could see it in his eyes when he averted his gaze from her. Annie tensed a little. What was he hiding?
“So I’ve been told.” Annie said, turning to go join her friends.
“Hey, Annie, wait a minute please?” Armin’s voice stopped her.
She glanced at him over her shoulder and he was wringing his hands nervously.
“I’m not trying to influence your decision, but what if we went out on a d-date? No strings attached, just to get reacquainted with each other?” Armin proposed.
Annie sighed heavily and turned back to him. “Just us?”
“If you’re not comfortable with that–”
“No. It’s fine. What do you want to do?”
“I could take you to Mimi’s for dinner Friday night.” Armin suggested. “ ...Bring some chocolate for dessert… ”
Sneaky little bastard.
“Alright. But do I have to give you an answer after?”
“No. We could go on a couple casual dates if you wanted, if you wanted me to prove I was serious this time…” Armin trailed off.
“It’s a date.” Annie said, forcing a little smile on her face.
Armin’s face lit up and he smiled again. “Oh and before I forget.”
He rifled through his saddlebag for a moment and pulled out a silver band, tossing it to her. Annie caught it and examined the thing, it looked like an oversized armband, although it was a lot prettier than one and heavier. Pale silver was overlaid with a darker silver and with whorls. It was pretty, but she was sick of wearing armbands.
“Thanks.” She said, looking at it.
Armin must have noticed her confusion because he explained. “I told a merchant in Haider I had a friend who liked to kick people’s heads in. Said the shin guard would add a little flair to your kicks.”
Annie’s eyes widened and she smirked, looking back at him. Armin had a coy smile on his face.
“I figured you’d prefer that to a bejeweled knife…Anyway, I have to go. Muller’s probably wondering if I’m being held hostage at the train station. I’ll see you Friday night, if not sooner. Goodbye, Annie.”
Annie watched him ride off and admired the silver piece of armor. It wasn’t titan crystal, but it would most certainly do.
She tried to reason with his sudden request to court after all this time. Maybe he had been too busy to make time for her. But she’d had plenty of time for other things and she was constantly being shipped to one country or another. But then again…She wasn’t the one who had beheaded Eren Yeager, supposedly.
Annie began walking back to her friends, who were hooting and hollering trying to get her attention when she realized Armin had never dismounted his horse.