Okay! So... this is my first fic. How do people write? Well, anyway, I decided to do this because there just isn't enough Armin/Annie stuff, so I decided to contribute to it a little. I would draw a picture, but too bad I'm on an art block. But great news is, that thanks to that, this fanfiction was booooorn. Multi-chaptered, and I'm aiming to make it as long as possible for your enjoyment. I'm currently pretty busy with school, but I'll try to update chapters as quickly as possible! Next chapter is going to be posted on August 29 or 30!

Armin Arlert stared out of his window, seeing nothing but a vast road covered in dirt. Not even cars were to be found. The town was dull, aside from some brightly colored trees, which were all as green as can be. Nothing stood out too much, because everything seemed to be all the same; boring and plain. Armin closed the window and sighed. Every day was the same to him. The only thing he had to do aside from studying and going to school was read books. Occasionally, he'd go out to visit his two best friends, Eren and Mikasa. But usually, they were the ones that would visit him instead, which was ironic, because they lived in a lively, bustling city, while he lived in such a quiet, dull little town. Armin had chosen to live here though, instead of with Eren and Mikasa in the big city of Zhiganshina, their hometown, which was recently reclaimed from the crazy bandits that invaded it, killing thousands of residents. Armin, Eren, and Mikasa were all involved in the plan to reclaim it. They were in the military a while back, but now that everything was normal again, they could finally go back to their everyday lives. Instead of coming back to the big city, however, he decided to start fresh in life again. He was allowed to live alone, and was even loaned money to pay off for his new home. The reason why he had chosen this place was because it was peaceful and quiet. Not many resided here, obviously. There wasn't anything special about this place. It felt somewhat very empty most of the time, as if life was scarce. The small town here was more popular to independent people, often living alone, without family or others. Armin was pretty social though. He was more adapt to life in the city than in a small town. It was hard work, but Armin pulled it off well.

Armin seemed too social of a person though to be almost entirely secluded from others, however. It wouldn't be long before he'd try to make himself some new friends, otherwise, he'd probably move back to Zhiganshina. He longed to be surrounded by other people which he would soon befriend, and so he finally went outdoors for once.
Armin opened the front door and stepped out onto his porch. He scanned the area for people he could interact with, but failed to find anyone.
"Oh… I guess I'll just have to find people another way. Maybe I could try to befriend the neighbors?", Armin thought to himself.
He stepped a few feet away from his house, looking around once more to see if he had missed anything, and in fact, he did. He caught a glimpse of a blonde teenage girl from the corner of his left eye. He immediately turned to see the beautiful girl sitting at her front porch, picking the petals off a daisy. Her figure was small and thin, seemingly very delicate and gentle. The girl had her hair tied up in a messy bun on the back of her head, bound together by a single, small rubber band. Her appearance was simple, but that was what made her attractive. At first glance, Armin couldn't help but feel slightly infatuated and connected with her. He couldn't resist trying to talk to her.

"Ahem," Armin cleared his throat loudly, trying to get her attention, but miserably failed. She ignored him and continued picking at the daisy she was holding in her tiny, fragile hands. He had no choice now but to speak up.

"E-Excuse me. Hello!" Armin nervously shouted out to the girl.

She turned her head slowly to greet him, only giving a little nod to show that she acknowledged his presence. She said nothing, however, and continued to remain silent as she watched Armin fiddle around.

"Um… Hi," Armin restated.

The girl rose an eyebrow.

"Hm. Didn't you already say that…?" she asked plainly.

"Yeah. I just…" Armin paused for a while.

"You just... yeah?" she repeated.

"I just wanted to make some new friends, that's all," Armin shrugged.

"I don't think you found the right person for this kind of situation. I'm not exactly very friendly," the girl said coldly. She then proceeded to throw the remnants of the daisy elsewhere, and instead, started to play with her bangs.

"You should at least have one friend though, I'm sure there are people who like you," he sighed.

The girl with flaxen hair stared up at him with a blank expression. She looked angry, even naturally.

Armin started to panic slightly. Did he say something wrong? Or maybe she was just in a bad mood today, perhaps. He stuttered and tried to say something else.

"C-Can… I mean, uh, do you… know anyone around here?" Armin interrogated while trying to act calm, but once again, failed.

"Yeah, I know them. But I hate all of them. They're so boring," the girl replied.
Armin didn't know how to react. She wasn't at all what he expected. Not delicate, or gentle, or kind. She was more to the ignorant, mean, messy, laid back and carefree side. Nevertheless, this wasn't enough to get Armin to back down. He believed he just needed to get to know her better. He thought maybe he should just start with the basics.

"So, what's your name?" Armin started off.

"Annie," the girl answered.

"Annie…?" Armin threw out more questions.

"Leonhardt. Annie Leonhardt," Annie said without expression.

"Ah! That's a really nice name. I'm Armin Arlert," Armin smiled.

"Thanks," Annie looked away a bit.

He felt his face redden more and more by the second. Armin was blushing, and he was blushing badly. He tried to hold it back, but it didn't work. Surely enough, Annie didn't notice. Annie didn't notice anything unless she wanted to. She didn't have to. What good would any of it do in the first place, anyway?

"Annie?" Armin spoke again, breaking the silence.

"Uhum?" Annie let a single word slip out.

"You do have friends, don't you?" Armin allowed his curiosity to run freely.

"… I suppose you could call them that," Annie hesitated, unsure of herself.

"You look like the type of people who are always alone," Armin grinned slightly.

"Spot on," Annie dully remarked.

"Do you have any folks around?" Armin questioned.

"Yeah. I live with my dad. My mom isn't around anymore. She's somewhere else really far away," Annie stared into the sky, and for a second there,

Armin could sense some emotion coming from her. Even the slightest sensitivity, he could feel. After all, he was really good at seeing through people.

"My parents are in the same place," Armin looked up with her and smiled calmly. He came over to sit next to her. His legs were tired from standing up the whole time.

"You do know you're not in your yard anymore, right?" Annie looked at him, "You're on mine now."

"Oh… Are you uncomfortable with it? Do you want me to go back?", he stopped for a while.
After a pause, Annie decided it was alright and gestured him to sit down.

The two spent quite some time just looking up into the sky without saying any words. What was there to say to each other, anyway? They'd just met. There wasn't too much to do, so becoming hypnotized by the clouds wasn't exactly unusual.

"Do your friends live around these parts?" Armin asked.

"Yes, very. A few feet away, actually," Annie stated.

"Eh? You mean, you could walk there right now if you wanted?" Armin was astonished.

"Uhuh. Of course," Annie pointed to the house to the right of Armin's house.

"I didn't know anyone lived there!" Armin exclaimed, shocked.

"I'm surprised. They're pretty noisy fellows," Annie chuckled almost silently.

"I never see them. Man, I really don't know the people around here very well," Armin playfully joked around.

"I don't blame you. We've known each other since we were young, so basically we kind of grew up together," Annie stared at the house for a long time.

Armin knew how that felt. He had childhood friends, too, remembering Eren and Mikasa. Except now, he was a little more distant to them than before, because he didn't live nearby. He missed them a lot, but being away from them was acceptable. It wasn't like he'd never see them again. He could go visit any time. He just decided not to.

"I want to go there," Armin looked at Annie straight in the eye, "I want to meet your friends."

Annie's eyes widened.

"What?" she questioned, still surprised.

"I mean it," Armin firmly said.

"I-If… you insist so...!" Annie's tone lightened up, but not precisely in a good manner. She sounded hesitant and even nervous if you thought about it.

"Alright! We can go!" Armin immediately got up and walked quickly towards the house.

The girl with flaxen hair quickly followed behind.