PARTING OF THE WAYS

Asunder

Armin had never understood the reason for the divorce. Sure the papers wrote 'Irreconcilable differences' but that was crap. Armin didn't know why one day Annie suddenly cried herself to sleep. Armin kept asking and he was always shut down by Annie rejecting his touch and refusing to speak with him. This went on for a month, when one day, out of nowhere, Annie asked for a divorce.

Of course Armin tried to save the marriage. He loved her like he had loved no other. She was his first crush. She valued his opinion and told him he had guts. She spared him when she could have easily crushed him. And she still loved him after he betrayed her and caused her to be encased inside the crystal for four years. And after The Rumbling, when he lost Paradis, being persecuted as traitor, Annie gave him a home. A place to belong. Annie who had been very patient with him. Annie who had loved him despite all his shortcomings. Annie whose warmth and kind heart had always warmed his very own too often logical, rational mind.

Then one night, Annie asked for a divorce. She was packing her things and she was going to leave the house to go to her father's. That was when Armin realised she meant it. Even though he felt angry because she didn't tell her anything, he knew what he must do. He would let her go if she wanted to. He wanted Annie to be Annie, to do whatever she wanted to do. So that night Armin packed his very few belongings and left the house. A few weeks after that, they signed their divorced with the help of an attorney and he had never seen her again, until this morning.

Annie was indeed the epitome of perfection. Her soft blonde hair was unbraided and the wind softly caressed it. Minimal make up but she glowed in the sun. Her eyes were clear blue, her nose greek nose added to her beauty. She was short yes but she fit nicely in his arms. The part that he liked the most was she had her own mind. Not easily swayed and she knew exactly what she wanted. Not to mention that she's formidable. In fact the most after Mikasa. So that's saying something. Most importantly, Annie was not easily moved and expressionless. But beneath that cold exterior, lied a soft, gentle heart. A heart that had so much love and kindness. She had a cat whom she took care since a kitten and when it suddenly died one day, Armin thought the world was going to end by the way she cried for it.

Three years of marriage could not be salvaged. What frustrated him the most was he still did not know the reason for the divorce even though he allowed it. After moving out, they lost contact. Annie still lived in the house but they had no reason to talk to each other. Only this duty as peace ambassadors created a chance for them. Armin still couldn't return to Paradis though Jean and Connie could. Because he didn't have any family left. Connie still had his mother and Jean had a substantially big family. And Paradis still mad for losing their martyr and needed a scapegoat to flame and maintain the yeagerists as the ruling government, so he's the perfect one. Nothing ever went well for him ever since he inherited the Colossal Titan. In fact the yeagerists were so pissed off at him for not combusting and rolling around Marley when he had the chance too.

This morning during the send off when he first saw her walking towards the crowd, his heart was beating so fast. He was smiling for the camera and such but his mind was blank. He had to stifle the urge to go and pick up his ex-wife in his arm and shower her with kisses. But he was rewarded with her indifference. And how quickly she pulled her hand from his grip after he saved he from falling down. Like his touch would burn her skin. No, like he disgusted her. Affirming once again that he's not all it's cracked up to be. Maybe he did not deserve her. Maybe he did not deserve anybody. But Armin refused staying at that thought for a long time. He was still alive and that was all that matter. No matter how horrible life was, he had gone through worser. Though it still hurt.

So Armin decided to see through this peace talk that Historia had tried her best to create. Just a few more problems and maybe they could establish the policy for the citizens of both nations to be able to visit each other. It would be good for Marley to see Eldia was not a threat anymore and for Eldia to move forward with the times.

As for personal reasons between him and Annie, it could wait.