"Thank you so much Sir."
"No, no. Thank you Armin. Your work in the field has been impeccable."
"Thank you."
"Have a safe journey, and good luck in the future."
"Thank you, I will."
I walked out of the meeting room, stretching and adjusting to the brightness of the sun. The courtyard outside was emptied as the King was taken to his carriage by his escorts.
Only one person apart from myself stood there.
She sat, watching the river in the same place we used to sit all those years ago. I walked slowly over, forming a smile on my face.
"Annie?"
She froze, then looked back behind her shoulder. "Hello Armin," she sighed.
"May I sit with you?" I asked.
"Oh, umm, yeah, okay." She said, shifting over to make room. I sat down next to her, looking out at the river. We sat in silence for a moment, before I turned and saw her staring at me, her expression confused and thoughtful.
"Hey, Armin?"
"Yeah?"
"Why did you do it?" She turned away, squinting at the glittering patterns in the river ripples.
I blinked, frowning. "Did what?"
"Leave me. Disappear. Not even keep in contact. Why?"
"Annie, please..."
She turned towards me, agonized.
"Look Annie. I had to do it. The Scouts..." I started. Annie just smirked, shaking her head slowly.
"It's just the way you did it. It was so brutal. So out of the blue."
"I'm sorry. I felt awful. I stood outside of the door for at least ten minutes, just pondering whether I should go back," I pleaded.
"You should have," she whispered, continuing to avoid my gaze. I sighed.
"I'm so sorry for hurting you Annie. I... I really am."
She shrugged, stretching back. "Whatever. Its all in the past now anyway. You're still alive, so that's fine. That was always my worst nightmare. That you'd die, and your last thought would not be about me. That you forgot about me."
"How could I forget about you?" I asked, not certain where that came from.
She smiled, shaking her head, and moving back to her previous position. "Ditto," she whispered.
"Seems you did though, didn't you?" I let out. I had to ask her about it now, this was my last chance.
"Armin, don't..."
"Please Annie. I have a right to know. You moved on so quickly. How come I only found out a few weeks ago? You have a daughter! That's huge! I can't believe you never told me."
"I didn't have much choice. I tried to send a message, but I couldn't. Nobody knew your location."
"Still... I never imagined you having a child."
"You told me to move on Armin. Like I said, you should have come back. Then we'd still be together, and we could have raised Emilee together, been the happy family she deserves!" She yelled. Tears started to form in her eyes. This was a painful subject, for the both of us. I blinked.
"If I turned back, Emilee wouldn't have existed," I muttered, biting my lip.
"Oh, right yeah. That's true," Annie rushed. I raised an eyebrow, before shaking it off. "Armin, can we stop talking about it please? Its upsetting for me."
"Okay. I'm sorry."
"Its fine. Look, Armin, I have to tell you something."
"What is it?"
"You... You're..."
"Armin! There you are! I've been waiting forever! Come on! Levi wants to go!" Hanji yelled as she ran over, grinning. I sighed. I didn't want to leave already.
"Yeah, okay, I'll be there now. What was it you wanted to tell me Annie?"
"Oh, nothing, I'll tell you another time," she muttered.
"Oh, umm, okay. Look, I'll see you soon, okay?"
"Yeah, okay," she sighed, staring out at the water again.
Then I stood up, and walked away, joining Hanji.
"Armin!" She yelled after me. I flung straight around, as I heard footsteps run towards me.
Her arms flung around my body. I stood behind her shoulder, staring at the floor, as she pushed her head deeper into my neck. My moved my arms to rest tightly on her back, pulling her in closer. Hanji smiled, before walking away quickly. I pushed Annie back to see her whole face.
"May I tell you something?" I whispered into her ear.
"What?" She asked, curiously.
"I'm in love with you, Annie Leonhardt. Always have been, always will be.
Her cheeks went red and she looked away. I tilted her chin up, smiling.
"You have to go," she said, looking behind me at Hanji. I nodded.
"Goodbye Annie. Send my love to Emilee."
She blinked. "Goodbye Armin. Come home soon," she said.
I squeezed her hand, making eye contact, drowning in her deep blue pools. I then let go, and started walking away slowly.
She stood there, alone, staring, as I followed Hanji back to the others.