Word Count: 1,058

Annie couldn't understand it.

It had been days, weeks almost, since her crystal had reached its limit and finished sublimating in the Scouts' basement. From what she had gathered, it had been just over two years since her battle with Eren in Stohess. The Corps had made it to the basement, the ocean; they knew about Marley for goodness' sake! Everything she had been told from childhood to keep secret when she arrived at Paradis, the secrets she imprisoned herself over for years, all of that had been simply lying in the Jaegers' basement for who knows how long, and now they all just simply… knew.

She couldn't understand it.

Why wasn't he looking at her like the filthy, lying devil he now knew she was?

Armin hummed cheerfully as he parted the curtains to let the dappled, mild morning sun into her hospital room. Annie merely watched, her face the now-normal mix of blank confusion and wonder, as she sat up in bed.

Armin undid the window latch to let the fresh air in, then he finally turned around to face her. Something in her gut twisted as he smiled at her, for the light streaming into her room fell upon is golden hair, and that combined with the way it seemed to fluff up on its own made it seem like he truly was an angel.

To her, she supposed he kind of was.

"Good morning, Annie!" he said brightly as the shadow of a tree made his halo fade away. He took a few brisk steps to her bedside and sat cross-legged on the nearby armchair. "How are you feeling today?"

Fine, she signed. She looked down at her plain, white, linen sheets, fiddling with the hem to distract herself from the sight of him.

Armin hummed, and she could hear him grab his clipboard off her bedside table to scribble down notes. "Still don't feel like talking?" he asked. "Well, that's okay. Take your time."

Annie wanted to cry. Why? Why was he still treating her so kindly, as if she hadn't tried her darndest to halt their progress at any cost? As if she hadn't killed anybody on that expedition years ago?

"Hange's coming later to do more in-depth testing, by the way."

How? How could he still see the world through bright and hopeful eyes when he knew firsthand how gross and ugly it really was? How could he still be a total ray of sunshine in their cold, desolate world where everybody could only ever afford to think of themselves?

"She wants to make sure your regenerative abilities are coming back at a proper rate, so prepare for that."

Annie tightened her grip on the sheets.

"Do you think you're up to using your legs today?"

Ah, yes. Her legs. Unlike, her voice, she actually had lost access to her legs upon waking up, and with her titan abilities just starting to reawaken, their recovery was slow going.

With some effort, Annie pulled her legs into a criss-cross posture beneath the sheets. No, walking didn't sound too bad today.

Armin hummed. "I take that as a yes?"

Annie nodded.

They had a few hours until Hange was due to start testing, so Armin helped her down to the stables. It was her first time outside since waking up, but while the fresh mountain air felt great when immersed in it, it made her legs ache with restlessness and her mind ache with memories. She missed so many things.

It hurt to sit astride, and her legs weren't strong enough to allow her to ride on her own, so she sat sidesaddle behind Armin on his horse. That was all right; its trot wasn't excessively bouncy, so she could just sit and watch the scenery drift by.

It was shaping up to be a beautiful summer day. She hadn't seen a calendar in ages, but if she had to guess, she'd peg it as mid- to late July. But regardless of what month it was, the forest surrounding the Corps' headquarters was filled with wildflowers, all in various states of bloom.

They stopped at the edge of a meadow after about half an hour of riding. Armin dismounted and helped Annie down.

Her legs trembled like a newborn fawn, and her every step was shaky and unstable, but she was standing on her own two feet again. It felt good.

"Ah, the sunflowers are blooming," he noted, gesturing to the large, yellow stalks scattered about the field. "They look very pretty this time of year, don't they?"

Annie looked at them. They were.

Armin reached out a hand to her. "It would be nice to wander among the blooms now, wouldn't it?"

She stared at it blankly, a lump in her throat growing with every passing moment as she was overwhelmed with sheer emotions.

"Hey, Armin," she croaked out. Her first words in years. Considering the disuse, she didn't sound that bad. Armin looked at her with surprise and intrigue. "Why are you doing this?" she continued as she struggled to hold back tears.

Armin's expression softened, and his hand dropped back to his side. However, Annie continued before he had the chance to respond.

"Why are you being so nice? You know what I've done. You know I'm nothing but a filthy, lying devil. So how?" she begged, "How can you do all this with a smile knowing that I'm not a good person?" And a tear slipped out, then another, and another…

When Armin reached out with a gentle smile and wiped them away, she didn't protest.

"Because I care about you," he said simply. "I always have. I always will. I never stopped."

"But how?" she said, her voice raw and warbly.

Armin only shrugged, unaware that she had more to say but didn't know how to say it. "The sun always comes out after it rains. Why dwell on the gloom of the rain when most of the day is bright and beautiful? Besides, rain is good for the earth."

And as Annie cried there in that field of flowers, she was overwhelmed by all her feelings of love, love, love.

author's note: *awkward wave* sup. this is my last snk fic for the foreseeable future. after a brief fling in the soul eater fandom it seems i'm moving on to bnha... anyway this is a bad goodbye gift to the fandom bc this fic? ? ? objectively garbage. wrote it all in like a class period. i wasn't even planning on even writing anything snk wth? someone just left a review telling me that they loved my aruani and they hoped i'd write more so... yeah. reviews or smth would be nice. up to you, though, so don't feel pressured or anything. i hope you have a greaaat daaay~~ c: