#aruaniweek

Annie rolled her eyes at that cheesy pickup line, but it always made her smile. “You’ve lost a whole year in my eyes,” she whispered. 

Armin grinned and scooted closer to her. “Happy first anniversary.” He brushed her bangs from her face and kissed her cheek. Annie purposely tilted her head so he grazed her lips instead. Armin’s heart prickled, and he became hungry for more. Annie pushed him back so she could crawl over him; Armin pushed himself up, wrapped the blanket around her body, and kissed her with eagerness and tenderness. After years of fearing that he was too quiet and socially awkward to have someone fall in love with him, he used any chance he could to savor what he feared would never come and to grasp it before one day would take it all away from him. 

They lost track of how long they started their morning until the little alarm clock at his bedside went off, and then pulled apart. Five more minutes, they agreed. Then they reluctantly parted, shyly glanced peeks at each other as they pulled on their bathrobes, and made the bed together. 

“What’s on the list first?” asked Armin.

Annie took a list at the agenda they received the day before. “Yoga at 7,” she said, “so we better get changed.”

Armin nodded, and the two scrambled to change into athleticwear. They grabbed white towels from the bathroom and hurried down the stairs to go to the back deck. Before stepping outside, however, Armin put his hand on Annie’s shoulder. “You’re okay with this?” he asked again. 

Annie gave him a lopsided smile. “Armin, we’ve been over this. So what if we couldn’t go abroad for our planned anniversary getaway? Let’s just see what our friends have planned for us–for this anniversary retreat.”

Armin’s face seemed to relax with her reassurance. They exited the air-conditioned house to the warmer outdoors, where Bertoldt had laid out three yoga mats and was drinking from a water bottle. “Good morning, guys,” he greeted them. “How did you sleep?”

“Very well,” said Armin. “I’m still not fully awake.”

Annie rolled her eyes. Bertholdt chuckled. “This will wake you up.” As soon as he handed the couple a towel each, he pulled out his phone and started playing beach sounds through his Bluetooth speakers. “All right–let’s get started!” 

Armin was very pleased that Bertoldt was a certified yoga instructor, and not just someone pretending to instruct them. Apparently–according to Annie–Bertoldt was the most flexible of her childhood acquaintances and reported spent in weird sleeping positions during overnight club and sports team travels. Still, Bertoldt’s ability to move his limbs and maintain his balance made Armin feel slightly uneasy; he could barely support himself on one leg, nor could he move as gracefully as Bertoldt.

“Head back,” said Bertoldt as he instructed them into the cobra. “Feel that tension leave your back and neck… You should feel it in your sides as well…” Armin tried to follow along, but he was too focused on his wife–how beautiful she looked with her face wet, her hair frizzled, the sunlight making her skin glisten. Armin would endure yoga every day for a whole year just to admire her in this naturally beautiful way. 

Annie reflected on that day, a year ago. While the groom and his party were staying in a separate hotel, she, suddenly overcome with nerves and jitters, sent an emergency message to her bridal party, who agreed to join her for a morning workout. Forty-five minutes of Zumba YouTube really helped, but stretching through yoga was a relaxing finish. Not all of her friends were great at yoga–some were not at all flexible, and Annie herself thought yoga was boring–but they had fun making mistakes and trying to imitate the more experienced. By the end, Annie wanted to take a nap but knew she had no time. Plus, she felt less anxious and regained her excitement that she had not only found everlasting love, but that they were going to swear their love to each other to everyone who loved and supported them for years.

Yoga ended after an hour, to which the rejuvenated couple hurried upstairs to take a quick shower. They tried not to rush but lost a decent amount of time washing each other’s hair and kissing all over. Armin washed the suds from Annie’s hair with one hand so the other could press against her lower back, closer to his body. Annie stopped rubbing soap over his arms and embraced him by the shoulders. “I could stay like this all day,” she whispered. 

Armin kissed the side of her neck. “So could I,” he whispered. “But…we better get out soon.”

Annie groaned but reluctantly complied. They stepped out of the bathroom and hastily dried when they saw that their shower lasted over twenty minutes. Annie blowdried her hair but gave up with it was partially dry while Armin looked at the agenda. “8:30–Breakfast.” 

The couple walked into the massive dining hall with a mahogany table as long as the one used in White House state dinners. The bright windows added a nice, calming atmosphere, as did the vase of fresh-cut peonies. Armin and Annie sat at the end of the table, set up with china plates and rolled cloth napkins. Five minutes passed, and then their mutual friend’s husband poked his head into the dining room. “Hey guys,” Niccolo–the YouTuber chef who made their friend fall in love with more than just his food–said with a concerned grin. “Good morning. Uh, sorry for the delay, uh…we need a few more minutes because…you know…”

“Oh,” said Annie. “Go ahead, take your time! We’re in no rush!” 

“Thank you,” said Niccolo. “For that”--he set on the table a doughnut tower– “here’s something you two can share until we get out.” 

Annie’s eyes sparkled. She thanked Niccolo and helped herself to a peach doughnut. Armin nibbled on a matcha one for five minutes before Niccolo returned with his wife–Sasha, the foodie of the friend group. The acclaimed food writer who met her husband while researching an article on nutrition in the army smiled at her friends, but she looked tired, and she had pulled her unbrushed hair back. “Good morning, guys,” she cheered. 

“Good morning,” said Armin with an uneasy smile. “How’s the morning sickness treating you?” 

Sasha sighed. She wasn’t the first in their friend group to get pregnant, but she was certainly the first to show the ugliness of it. “I’m so ready to be done with morning sickness. Even if I have crazy cravings, just as long as I’m not sick anymore,” she muttered. “But of course, I’m not going to let that stop me. Just a few crackers, and I’m ready to go! So what would you two like for breakfast?” 

As usual, Annie ordered everything sweet–one blueberry pancake and waffle each, drizzled with both syrup and honey, topped with berries and chocolate chips–enough to make the rather health-conscious Niccolo grin uneasily. Armin went for the more savory chicken omelet, but he agreed to split the fruit bowl and avocado toast with pomegranate seeds with his wife. 

Armin thought back on their special day and how his groomsmen found out that the bride and her party were going to eat at the hotel’s restaurant, so they took him to start his day at the acclaimed diner with their award-winning omelettes and English breakfasts. They reluctantly agreed–for the better–to hold the mimosas, and dined like kings. Armin, however, was more nervous than excited. He was about to change his entire life, and he really was heading into the unknown, into a new phase of his life. He didn’t want to mess up or make the tiniest errors. He was so nervous and quiet that he only ate after his best man pushed him to because if he didn’t, he would lose his strength and pass out at the altar–and what an impression he would make for his bride! 

Niccolo and Sasha zoomed in and out with coffee, took the plates, and brought out clean forks and knives, but other than that, Armin and Annie had a quiet breakfast, altering between enjoying each other’s company in silence and talking about last night’s dreams. Ever since Armin told her theories about dreams reflecting one’s subconscious, Annie warmed to the idea of sharing hers with her husband and listening to his recollections of his own. 

At 9:45, with only fifteen more minutes to spare, Sasha poured Armin’s leftover coffee into a takeout cup to take on their next event. Armin and Annie graciously thanked Niccolo and Sasha for the meal as the couple washed the dishes, and then hurried upstairs to change again–this time, in a periwinkle swimsuit for Annie, and green swim trunks and a gray T-shirt for Armin, Birkenstocks and floppy straw hats for both. They carried their beach bag outdoors across the wood pathway, into the hot sand, and to the beach chairs shielded under an umbrella. 

Once they settled into their chairs, Armin and Annie applied sunscreen first onto themselves before Armin worked on his wife’s back. He made sure to reach all the commonly missed spots—her ears, the back of her neck, and all over her shoulders—after he kissed each spot. “Stop, that tickles,” Annie whispered between giggles. 

“Can’t help it,” Armin whispered back. “This sunscreen smells like Fruity Pebbles, so of course I can’t stop sniffing.” 

Annie rolled her eyes and gently pushed him away so she could do the same to him, but with nibbles to his ear lobes. Armin laughed and started to fish through their bag. Just as Armin pulled out his book, however, he noticed Annie pulling down the bottom of her suit. “Are you all right?” he asked. 

Annie blushed. “Uh, I, uh…” She swallowed. “I, uh, forgot to wax–you know, down there…” 

Armin raised an eyebrow. “Why are you embarrassed?” he asked. 

Annie shrugged. “I just forgot,” she admitted. Armin set down his book and put his hands on top of hers. “You’re fine,” he said. “You could forget to remove body hair for a whole year, and I’d still think of you as the prettiest woman in a bathing suit. He leaned downward and kissed where she felt embarrassed, unkempt, ungroomed. Annie mischievously grinned. “Are you going to do that to me here? Of all places?” she teased. 

“No,” said Armin without feeling bashful, “because I don’t want to be caught doing that in front of wait staff.”

Annie’s head snapped up, and Armin sat back into his seat the moment that his childhood best friends–Eren, his childhood defender and proud best man, and his life partner and childhood sweetheart, Mikasa, who was a stronger defender of Armin than even Eren–stepped into view. 

“Good morning,” said Mikasa with a mischievous grin. She wore a black-and-red bathing suit with a matching sarong to give the impression of a beach club uniform. Eren matched in his swim trunks, but with an unbuttoned short-sleeve shirt. “We trust that you two are enjoying your time here?” Mikasa finished in such a tone that was so unlike her. Annie knew that Mikasa would have been a bad server, especially with rude customers, and better off as a manager or bouncer. 

“We are,” said Armin with a laugh. 

“Excellent,” said Eren, who likewise would not have lasted in a waitstaff career. He handed the two paper menus. “Please take a look at the menus, and we’ll be back to take your orders.” 

After the two walked away, Armin looked at the “Aruani Anniversary Specials” and shook his head with a smile as he scanned the options and ingredients. When Eren and Mikasa came back and took their orders–“Sugar and Spice” for Annie, “Naughty and Nice” for Armin–the blonds reapplied the sunscreen onto each other. 

Annie remembered when the time came for her to get ready for their wedding beyond just her and her bridesmaids sitting through manicures and blowouts and makeup sessions. She remembered being in the wedding suite and putting on the gown after all of her bridesmaids were changed and ready. Then her maid of honor zipped up the back of the gown, and Annie suddenly felt strange–for some reason, it occurred to her that she really was getting married, and that her groom–the man of her dreams–would be the one to unzip the gown. This would be the last time that someone other than Armin would zip the back of her clothes–and she wished that she could invite him to zip the back of her gown, superstition of “bad luck seeing the bride before the wedding” be damned, and have him be the first person to see her fully wearing the dress. 

It may have been strange to have that last feeling, but somehow, just as she wanted only Armin to zip and unzip her clothes, she wanted only Armin to put sunscreen on her back–and only herself to do the same for him. 

Armin and Annie enjoyed their cocktails for thirty minutes when they heard shuffling between them, and Armin resisted the urge to look over. He knew what was going on, so there was no reason to see. He and Annie enjoyed two more cocktails until noon–lunchtime. 

When Armin and Annie stood up, they saw plastic picnic tables–covered with checkered tablecloths–lined up and their full wedding parties and their partners cheering and clapping as though they were stepping out for the first time as a married couple. Niccolo and Sasha laid out plates of fresh lobster and butter; Annie’s college roommate and maid of honor, Hitch, and her fiancé, Marlowe, unwrapped bowls of gourmet salads; Ymir and Historia had brought ingredients for their signature salmon and grain bowls; and Annie’s childhood friends Pieck, Marcel, and Porco set out more fruit than Armin had seen outside a supermarket. 

“Let’s eat, everyone!” said Reiner, holding out a bottle of Corona. Everyone else cheered and clapped until Armin and Annie came over to serve themselves first. 

Eren had set the timer on the camera to begin recording and randomly taking pictures before he and the other groomsmen surrounded the groom. He knew better than to bring up Armin’s rough childhood and how he and Mikasa were pretty much his only friends; instead, he talked about Armin being a second brother to him, who was there during the worst times in his life, and taught him how to be a much better person. Jean raved about how Armin would have been voted “most changed” in college–he started out as a quiet, studious straight-A student who graduated as class president, captain of the speech-and-debate team, and “TA of the Year”--particularly in the history classes taught by Drs. Shadis and Smith, the school’s toughest professors at the time. Connie recalled Armin comforting him after the car accident that killed his siblings and their father, and left his mother homebound for four months–how he made time to help them catch up on chores, didn’t push Connie to seek therapy but let him decide when he wanted to talk, and advocated for Connie to keep his job between taking his mother to physical therapy. Reiner and Bertoldt thanked Armin for making their childhood friend happy and encouraging her to step out of her shell; even Marcel and Porco, to whom Armin wasn’t as close but had as groomsmen because of how important they were to Annie growing up, raved about how much Armin made Annie feel safe and loved as she did him. Then with a last cheer, they toasted to Armin’s next great adventure and took one last swig of sparkling apple cider before getting dressed. 

Connie played the top music from their college days and danced with Sasha while Niccolo rushed to grill more steaks and make more hamburgers from scratch. Eren and Jean told Marcel and Porco about the absolute stupidest things they used to fight about in college, which reduced the brothers to laughing until they cried. Carly, whom Annie lost touch with years ago but reconnected with after college, and Pieck looked at Hitch’s pictures of her and Marlowe’s recent getaway to Niagara Falls, while Marlowe and Bertoldt laughed to Reiner admitting embarrassing stories about trying to get Historia to date him in college–and trying to “win her back” after realizing she and Ymir became a couple. It was more fun and vibrant than a college party, in Armin’s opinion. The food was beyond delicious and filling, and except for showing each other pictures, not a single person pulled out a cell phone to text someone who was absent. After everyone ate and started to clean up, Armin and Annie were talking to Ymir and Historia when Eren interrupted them. It was 1:40pm, and they needed to get ready for their 2pm event. Armin and Annie finished washing up and dressing and grooming themselves by 1:55pm, and made their way to the basement of the house, where Jean, in a gray suit, was waiting. 

“Welcome,” said Jean with a wide grin, “and thank you for coming to the new exhibit ‘Aruani: A Year in Pictures’”. He even handed them a brochure, with a brief blurb about how the couple met and gradually fell in love, and how Jean–a professional artist who specialized in portraits–had been working on the sketches ever since they shared with him their favorite honeymoon photographs. He preferred to display the sketches side to side with the original photograph.

The first sketch they encountered, however, was of Annie posing in her bridal gown right after Hitch zipped up the back. She held her bouquet in her hands and placed directly above her lap. Armin held his breath–she was just as beautiful as when she walked down the aisle to him, but there was something about seeing what she looked like before that moment, how he didn’t get to see her every single moment. 

Because they had such big parties, it seemed like the time it took for everyone to pair up and walk down the aisle went on for too long. The bridesmaids were giggling and whispering until it was time for Eren and Hitch to pair up, and that’s when it struck Armin how it was finally here. Hitch seemed to share the same thoughts, for she was grinning so widely and shaking a little in her dress. (Eren, on the other hand, was not exactly thrilled to be paired with Hitch as the respective best man and maid of honor; as he complained to Mikasa, “Love the person, hate the laughter!”)

Once Bertoldt had walked away, arm in arm with Carly, Armin waited for the signal for the groom to walk down. Taking a deep breath, he turned the corner and bravely walked down alone, taking in the whispers from people he had known for years. Nobody was texting or playing video games. Everybody lived in the moment. Eren was beaming for him; Hitch looked like she wanted to bite her lip–she was so excited!--but knew not to ruin the makeup artist’s hard work.

Rather than “Here Comes the Bride”, Annie had selected a gentle, Japanese instrumental tune to play. As soon as Armin heard those notes, he turned around, and everyone went silent and stood up as Annie and her father turned the corner. Armin was very thankful that he did eat, because she looked so gorgeous that he would have collapsed. She preferred a simple gown with a sheer halter, and her hair was pulled back, but her bangs framed her face. “Wow,” Eren whispered. 

When Mr. Leonhart and Annie reached the altar, the older man kissed her cheek and took a shaky breath. Armin didn’t hear what he was whispering, but then he grasped Armin’s hand with a grip so strong that Armin’s bones immediately ached. “I trust you, to give her the love and care that I failed to in those early years,” he whispered. “Be a better man.”

“I already plan to,” Armin reassured him. As soon as Mr. Leonhart walked away, Armin made himself meet Annie’s eyes and tried not to weep. “You look beautiful,” he heaved. 

Annie handed Hitch her bouquet and took his hand. “Mission accomplished,” she whispered. Then they turned around so Pastor Nick–the same pastor who baptized Armin, Eren, and Mikasa, and even officiated Eren’s parents’ wedding–requested that everyone but the bride and groom, and best man and maid of honor be seated.

Armin stared at the sketch of Annie walking down the aisle until Annie motioned for him to admire the other photographs that Jean sketched–more from their ceremony, their first kissed as a married couple, their two most favorite couples’ photographs, Annie feeding Armin cake, Armin wiping his tears as Mr. Leonhart made his speech–before they approached the “Honeymoon” exhibit. The couple had gone to Japan for a cultural excursion–wearing kimonos, learning the tea ceremony, watching kabuki theater–as well as a natural one, exploring the waterfalls and natural attractions. Annie recalled feeling tension leave her husband’s body and excitement pound in him when exploring everything that he had for years wanted to. Leaving Japan was very hard for both of them, but at least they were able to go back home and finally start working on their recently purchased condo. 

Annie smiled at the sketch and photograph of Armin laying newspaper on the floors and taping the window frames, and the following one of herself comparing shades of paint–she wanted something vanilla, like beige or eggshell white, but she didn’t know what would work for the furniture they were saving up for. For some reason, the photographs and sketches of Annie, wearing overalls over a white T-shirt, smeared in paint and looking at the walls made Armin think of the girlfriend in the music video for “Love Faces” by Trey Songz. He could stare at the one of her face right after she unknowingly wiped paint from her temple to her ear. Getting their condo ready took over a week, as they had to apply and reapply paint, and spent time in between comparing furniture and discussing what else they wanted to add to their new home. Armin remembered how they completed decorating and personalizing their new home by Patriot Day, and the frustration they felt that the AC broke but maintenance was too slow to fix it. By the time they did repair the AC, it was falltime, and temperatures were dropping. In Armin’s opinion, autumn was the best time for couple’s pictures.

The fall exhibit began with the couple taking couple’s pictures in a giant field covered in orange and red leaves, wearing oversized sweatshirts over jeans, brown boots, and plaid scarves. For Halloween, Armin and Annie wore multiple costumes–Sleeping Beauty and her prince, their favorite Titans from their favorite video game series Attack on Titan (Armin the Colossal, Annie the Female), and expedition travelers–for a series of parties with plenty of candy and orange-and-black cocktails. Armin bobbled for apples on his wife’s behalf; Annie won the game of Spiked Pin the Tail on the Donkey, which was Carly's idea. Both ate more candy than they could handle, and even Annie endured an uncomfortable sugar withdrawal. Nevertheless, it was more fun than any Halloween party either had attended as a child.

Right after the photograph and sketch of Aruani preparing for Thanksgiving dinner, in which Armin helped her peel potatoes against her back and his cheek on her shoulder, was the winter exhibit, which consisted of the couple on their winter getaway in Iceland with Eren and Mikasa–Annie teaching Armin how to ski, the couple holding hands as they relearned how to ice skate, Armin kissing Annie’s cheek over mugs of hot chocolate, their looks of awe as they gazed at the northern lights, Armin clinging to Annie like a koala before they took off on a husky-led sleigh ride. Their getaway ended when they left on Christmas Eve; they spent their long layover in the airport’s VIP lounge, drinking wine and nibbling on the endless cheese buffet, before returning home on Christmas. They fought fatigue long enough to celebrate with Annie’s father and Eren’s parents at Eren and Mikasa’s apartment, but crashed on the pull-out bed for sixteen hours of sleep. 

Armin and Annie closed off the year and welcomed the new one for a massive party at Ymir and Historia’s house; their New Year’s kiss was one of Armin’s favorite pictures, and now sketches, of himself and his wife. They slept until nine in the morning and went out with all their friends for a hot breakfast and frozen yogurt. 

The spring exhibit started with a photograph of the couple smiling as Armin carried little Christa, Ymir’s and Historia’s three-year-old daughter, through a botany exhibit at the local zoo. He was beaming in ways that he would not when he didn’t have a child in his arms. Right beside was a sketch of the photograph that Christa managed to take of the happy couple outside the exhibit’s entrance, matching in light blue and wide-brim sun hats. Annie had a gentle smile that was expanded in the next artwork, in which she and Christa were taste-testing homemade ice cream from scratch. Her smile was so contagious that Armin sometimes looked at the picture in his phone when he wanted that moment of nostalgia, of happiness. (Their little flower girl was spending the weekend with her Aunt Frieda while her mothers helped with the anniversary getaway.)  

Right after their weekend of babysitting Christa were pictures of Armin and Annie helping Eren and his older half-brother, Zeke, set up their estate sale after their grandparents died and they sold the couple’s house. In one picture, Annie was admiring a turquoise teapot (which someone eventually bought); right beside, Armin was dusting a picture frame that nobody wanted and he decided not to keep. (Zeke later took it home and did some DIY sponge-painting craft with it.) Annie nearly lost herself staring at the sketch of Armin handing out iced tea and lemonade to some of the patrons, and Armin sighed in love when he saw Annie displaying Mrs. Yeager’s scarves (two of which she eventually got to keep.) 

After the estate sale was a series of images of Armin and Annie at the airport and boarding a plane for the group trip to Disney World so Niccolo could film his record-breaking “I Ate Everything at Disney’s EPCOT” video for YouTube. Annie had her head on Armin’s shoulder during their flight; Armin playfully posed with Minnie Mouse ears; they took a bite of the same Mickey Mouse pretzel a la Lady and the Tramp; they competed with other couples to see who could collect the most diverse pins. It remained one of their favorite group memories. (The one downside was Armin freaking out and screaming throughout the Avatar’s Flight of Passage and Expedition Everest, despite reassurance and shushing from his wife; therefore, nobody invited him to ride the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Space Mountain, Soarin’, or the Tron Lightcycle Run.)

Their first summer was rather uneventful, but still fun with the Fourth of July party that Pieck and Porco hosted and Annie and Armin splitting soft serves on National Ice Cream Day. At the end of the exhibit was a sign that read, “Thank you for visiting, and have a great rest of your day! Come back soon!” Armin had to smile to himself. At the very end, he and Annie walked up the stairs to their rooms, undressed, put on their bathrobes, and walked outside to the balcony where they practiced yoga, which was now set up with two portable massage chairs, besides which Hitch and Marlowe stood in white T-shirts and black slacks. 

“Good afternoon,” Marlowe said with a mischievous smirk. “Welcome to Massage by Marlowe.” (Hitch shook her head but smirked.) “We are very pleased to have you both here, and thank you in advance for filling out your form yesterday, regarding any injuries or medical conditions we should be aware of.”

“All right,” said Armin and Annie. They crawled under their sheets and removed their bathrobes, which Hitch and Marlowe took before they started the massages. They started with the shoulders, which gave Armin feelings of pure bliss. He moaned when Marlowe dug into the muscles that he didn’t take as much care of as he should have. He needed to spend less time hunched over his book and computer. He felt like he had finished lifting weights and was alleviating already sore muscles. 

Annie sighed happily with Hitch moving on to her arms, stroking the muscles of her biceps and giving her forearms the same treatment. Hitch was careful with Annie’s left hand, particularly around her fourth finger; that ring, Annie’s most treasured material possession, would never come off, not even for a massage. 

When Pastor Nick met his eyes, Eren–his face in the widest smile ever–handed Armin the ring, to which Armin nervously took Annie’s left hand. It was a gold band, with a topaz–the groom’s birthstone–in the middle. “I, Armin,” he said calmly, “take you, Annie…” 

Annie’s eyes flooded with tears as he vowed to love her for better or worse, in sickness and health, as long as they both lived. He would never betray her or hurt her. When he learned how her father was abusive to her when she was growing up, he needed more convincing than she did to forgive the older man, but he swore that he would rather die than make Annie suffer. 

Likewise, when Hitch handed Annie the gold band with tiny aquamarine gems, she too made the same vows–she would never let him suffer or be alone. Eren and Mikasa had encouraged him to tell her that he was constantly bullied–physically–as a boy, but he was not going to go through that anymore; it was time to leave the past behind and embrace a better future. 

She heard Mikasa sniffing as soon as she vowed to love and cherish the ravenette’s childhood friend for life, and even Eren looked so relieved. 

“Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife,” said Pastor Nick, forever concluding Armin’s bachelorhood and Annie’s status as a single woman. “You may kiss the bride.” 

Annie opened one eye and watched Marlowe focus on “untangling” knots in her husband’s back. She did not need to see that he was enjoying it; she could feel it.

Within an hour, Hitch and Marlowe finished the massages and grabbed the bathrobes for Annie and Armin, who put them on under the sheets and stumbled back into the house. They both felt like they could and could not walk up the stairs back to their room. They fumbled for thirty minutes to get dressed, tame their hair, and regain their energy. Annie rushed to put on her makeup to match her wedding look; Armin struggled to style his hair to his preferred hairstyle. They ignored the noise downstairs and focused on getting ready.

At 6pm, the exact start time of their reception, Armin and Annie came down the stairs wearing the exact same clothes from their reception–him in his tuxedo, her in a black halter cocktail dress. Everyone else wore their preferred fine-dining ware. Behind the cheering crowd was a line-up of the same foods and treats as their actual reception–tiny cakes, fruit tarts, tiny pies, mini pulled-chicken sandwiches, unique cookie sandwiches, coffee cakes, extra-cheese pizza slices, etc. 

“Ladies and gentleman,” yelled Connie with the goofiest grin, “presenting to you for not the first time as a married couple–and not the first as a married couple of one year–Mr. and Mrs. Armin and Annie–AAA!” 

Everyone laughed and cheered at the same time, and then backed away to give the living room to the couple. As soon as Porco pressed PLAY, Armin and Annie got into position just in time for “Por una Cabeza” by Carlos Gardel to begin. Initially, and Armin didn’t know if she was joking, Annie had wanted to do some recreation of the steamy dance scene at the beginning of the recent Death on the Nile movie adaptation to “Call Me By Your Name” by Lil Nas X; eventually, they compromised to instead recreate the tango dance from Scent of a Woman. 

Armin and Annie felt like they were dancing in front of their loved ones for the first time and not a year later. Every now and then, her ankle brushed against his; they laughed every time he tilted her back. Annie knew when to hold his left or right shoulder; he knew how many times she had to spin under his arm before they moved on. Mikasa’s face broke into the widest grin. Sasha happily sighed and leaned her head against her husband’s shoulder. Historia held her breath to stop herself from crying because they were giving such a vibe of love and energy. No longer was Annie afraid to make mistakes in front of others outside her husband, and Armin laughed the entire time. Eren kept thinking of Armin growing up, as the little boy that big kids bullied the most, and how that little boy had grown into the happiest that he could have ever been. 

Once Armin and Annie finished, their friends gave them another round of applause and more best wishes for additional years of joy and love before music played again. Everyone danced to the same music as they had a year ago: all of Brat by Charli XCX, “A Hard Day’s Night” by the Beatles, “DJ Got Us Fallin’ in Love” by USHER and Pitbull, everything that Taylor Swift was performing at her Eras tour, and “Gradation” by 10cm. Eren struggled to keep with Mikasa, who was the faster dancer; Niccolo could not keep his hands off Sasha’s waist nor his eyes out of hers; Porco tried to not let Pieck’s long hair whack him in the face; Marlowe kept kissing up and down Hitch’s shoulder and neck as they danced with her back against his chest; Connie, Marcel, and Jean laughed as they made up dances. At everyone’s urging, Armin recreated the Wolf of Wall Street dance and ended in laughter.

At 11 o’clock, just as they had the previous year, Armin pointed out the time to his wife, who was embarrassed but gave in to tradition and let Armin pick her up–one hand under her knees, the other around her back. “Have a happy honeymoon and year of marriage!” the party repeated themselves from the year before. 

“Thank you,” said the couple. 

“We love you all so much, so thank you for this,” Armin said.

“Thank you, and remember not to give Connie any alcohol,” Annie added. 

“Hey!” Connie snapped with a pout, to which everyone laughed. Armin carried Annie up the stairs and into their bedroom. Annie sighed to herself–as much as she loved her friends, and she felt this way a year ago as well, sometimes she was relieved to just be alone or with her husband. Sure, they were tired after leaving their reception and napped on the flight to their honeymoon, but tonight, Annie wasn’t ready to go to bed or make love yet. 

Armin closed the door with hip. “Happy anniversary, Annie,” he said. 

“Happy anniversary to you, too,” she said, kissing his cheek. “Did you have fun?” 

“More fun than I anticipated,” he admitted, “though…I’m tired but not tired enough to go to bed.” 

“I feel the same,” said Annie. “Could we, you know…run a bath?” 

Armin looked surprised, but his eyes lit up. “You must have read my mind,” he said. 

Annie beamed and quickly pecked his lips. “It feels good, to be known so well.”

Annie took to preparing a bubble bath with lavender-scented soap and laid out Reese’s Cups on the edge of the bath tub. Then she removed her bathrobe and waited for her husband to walk in and join her. She stared at his face and resisted the temptation to look elsewhere until he sat down across from her. “Where did you get the candy?” Armin asked. 

Annie unpeeled one Cup. “Niccolo and Sasha cleared these out of their house once Sasha found out that she was pregnant–you know, ‘cause pregnant women shouldn’t eat anything with nuts…” 

Armin nodded and let her feed him the candy. To make her smile, he moaned and chewed slowly. 

“Tasty,” he whispered. “I–I’m glad you enjoyed today.” He blushed. “I know it’s not exactly how we planned to celebrate our first anniversary, but–” he swallowed– “I mean, I know we couldn’t go abroad as we wanted to, but–” 

Annie pushed her finger against his lips. “Armin. Don’t apologize,” she said. “It wasn’t our fault, and we didn’t expect it to happen. But…” She beamed. “I’m just glad that we were able to celebrate our anniversary with our closest friends.” 

Armin sighed in relief. “Me too,” he said. “It’s been a wonderful year as your husband, and a wonderful first anniversary. I’m just…I’m just excited to see what we’ll be like in a year from now, and in the future…” 

Annie unpeeled another Cup and took a deep breath. “Well, on that…” She hesitated. “I’ve been thinking of something for a while, and you know, I don’t like to look too far into the future, but…” She bit down on the candy. “Here, help me finish these.” 

Armin looked confused. Annie took a deep breath. “Well, now I want to clear these out because…” she swallowed. “I was hoping that after we leave…” 

Armin’s frown relaxed when he realized what she was trying to say. “Annie…do you mean…” 

“Yes,” Annie said with a deeper exhale. “When we get back home…I’d like to talk about trying for a baby.”

Armin’s eyes could not have grown wider. Then they watered, and he began heaving. “Oh my God–oh my God–” He clasped his hand over his mouth, and Annie crawled over to him. He returned her hug and kissed the top of her hug. “Oh, Annie… this year was already magical. Now…it couldn’t get any better.” 

Annie pulled back and stroked his cheek, even though he wasn’t weeping. “It’s better only because it’s you, and I love you more fiercely than I ever imagined loving someone else.”