A/N: This is my first time attempting to write for a ship week so please be gentle with me!
Prompt: "Missing You". Modern AU - Armin works as a high-ranking medical professional and travels a lot for his job, and on his birthday he receives a video call from his two favourite people on this earth. (Set in the US because time differences were easier to work out that way)
Watching the clock on his phone app, as over in his home time zone it turned from 23:59 to 00:00, Armin looked back at his laptop and saw the Facebook wall posts begin to flood in. Generic birthday wishes from people who were all but strangers to him now. His phone dinged, and he saw that both Eren and Mikasa had made the effort to send him birthday texts, and he smiled. Then a text came in from the person he had been waiting to hear from.
"Are you awake?"
He replied with lightning speed.
"Yes"
The next moment Armin's phone burst into life signalling an incoming video call from his beautiful wife Annie. Armin accepted the call instantly. He held the phone screen up so his face was in shot, and was in turn greeted with the sight of the petite blonde woman he loved so much.
"Happy birthday, love." she said with a smile.
"Thank you. How have you been?"
"Not bad. Work's driving me round the twist as usual. Some of these damn kids just can't seem to understand that kickboxing doesn't just mean 'beat the crap out of each other with no technique whatsoever'."
Armin laughed. "They'll get there eventually I'm sure."
"I hope so. How were your meetings today?"
"Productive. It seems the research is coming on leaps and bounds, enough to start running drug trials."
"That's excellent!" Annie enthused. "Would... that mean that you're going to come home soon?"
Armin sighed. "I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, they want me out here to be one of the leading professionals on the trials, or the first wave at the very least. I'm going to be at least another month."
"I get it." Annie was silent, her face a calm mask that Armin knew too well was disguising a storm of emotions.
Armin knew better than to force her to show those feelings, and instead changed the subject. "How's Flora?"
"She's okay. She cries a lot, she's missing her daddy."
As if on cue, a soft padding of footsteps was heard from Annie's side of the call. "Mommy?"
"Hi, sweetie, did you have a bad dream?"
"Uh-huh. Why aren't you sleeping?"
"Daddy's on the phone. It's Daddy's birthday, remember? You gonna come sit on my lap and say hi?"
"Yeah!" Annie's face disappeared from view for a short moment and then Armin could see the faces of both his wife and daughter looking back at him.
"Hi daddy!" Flora said, an ecstatic smile on her little face as she waved at him.
"Hi sweetheart! How are you?"
"I... I miss you daddy." Armin saw his five-year old daughter's eyes brimming with tears and his heart ached.
"I miss you and mommy too, darling. I'm gonna try and come home real soon, okay? Are you being good for mommy like I asked you to before I left?"
"Yeah." Flora sniffled. "I'm eating all my vegetables and I always feed the fish before mommy takes me to kindergarten."
"Well done honey, I'm so proud of you." Armin was blinking back his own tears now.
"You feel okay to go back to bed sweetie? Mommy and daddy need to have grown-up talk time." Annie pressed a kiss to the top of Flora's head.
"Yeah."
"Say bye-bye to daddy then."
"Bye! I love you daddy!" Flora blew kisses at the screen, and Armin's heart broke at the adorableness.
"Bye darling, I love you lots like jelly tots." Flora hopped down from Annie's lap and was gone back to her bedroom. Armin saw that Annie was crying too, silent tears making shining tracks down her pale face. She wiped them away briskly.
"Sorry."
"Hey, what have I always said? It's okay to cry. You don't have to be a bitch to everyone." Armin grinned.
"Shut up, asshole." Annie shot back, the tears still falling even as she smiled.
"You should get some rest, it's nearly half past twelve for you." Armin said
"So should you, because that means it's 3:30 there in NYC."
"I can't fault your logic." Armin laughed softly. "I love you, Annie. Goodnight."
"I love you too, Armin."
The call ended, and Armin stared out of his hotel room over the New York City skyline, knowing his heart was back in Seattle with his wonderful family.
Work couldn't keep him here forever…