Armin led us bravely through the dark, long tunnel. My eyes were pierced by a bright light coming from the end of the tunnel. I shielded my eyes with a hand as we reached the end. Armin climbed out first and helped me out after himself. I recognized this place. I remembered going there with Eren, well, it would have been Armin. The weather was perfect. The light and dark shades of grass swayed whimsically in all sorts of directions. The purple flowers framing the hill gracefully swayed in the wind, like the grass. The big tree at the top of the hill created a massive shadow on one side of the hill. Everything was perfect, it was so beautiful. 

"I know you enjoyed coming here last time, so I thought I'd bring you here again. Come on!" Armin yelled as he ran up the hill. This was like the last time I was there. I smiled and ran up the hill, behind him. He didn't very get far before I caught up. After all, he wasn't the most athletic trainee. By the time we reached the top of the hill, I noticed my stomach was grumbling non-stop. "Armin, please tell me you brought us some food. I'm starving," I complained. "Yes Y/N, there's food," he responded. Armin brought us around to a flatter area where a little picnic was set up. It was ridiculously cheesy but so cute. "Armin, did you do all this?" I asked in awe. 

"Well, not all of it. Eren helped out."

Eren. I completely forgot about where we left off. I wondered if he was still mad at me. Maybe he'd forgiven me, considering he literally helped Armin set up a birthday date with me. A date. Was I really admitting that we were on a date? Regardless, I still wanted to know where I stood with Eren. I would have asked Armin but I didn't want to spoil the mood. I sat down beside Armin. He watched my hair flow softly in the wind. "This is too cute, Armin," I cooed, my insides screaming for some food. How was he not starving? Armin pulled out 2 sandwiches from a little weaved basket and handed me one. I thanked him. "No problem," he said, smiling warmly. 

Armin looked so happy, I couldn't help but smile in return. Both of us thoroughly enjoyed our lunch. We shared a canteen of water. The scene was almost romantic. I mean, it was romantic but part of me didn't want to admit that to myself. I still didn't know how I felt about him. I mean, he was cute and caring. I just didn't feel any strong connections or anything. That made sense, though. After all, we didn't have any history, at least not that I remembered. But what if I gave him a chance? If I really liked him I could give things another go and we could make new memories, but I wasn't sure if I could fully admit to myself that I liked him. 

Once we finished our lunch, we lay down on the grass. "Hey, Armin?" I called out. 

"Yeah?"

"Tell me about some of the things we used to do together," I demanded. 

"R-Really?"

"Yeah, I wanna know what we used to have."

Used to have, how depressing. "Well, I don't know quite know where to start. We met quite some time ago. You would let me stay in your cabin during free time because I couldn't get any quiet in my cabin. Eventually, I began to sleep with you in your cabin. You said I could stay no matter what and whenever I wanted. I do admit I was greedy for accepting that offer and staying for as long as I did. You showed me around your world and you even took me there for my birthday. We stayed there for a few days and had a lot of fun together," he explained. I asked him about when he slept over in my cabin, about why he decided to stay. He said that it was because I helped him with his sleep problems and eventually he just fell in love with me so he stayed. 

"Oh. Also, what sleep problems?"

"U-Um, it's hard to explain. I'd rather not have to go through explaining that again because it's kind of traumatizing thinking about. I'm sorry," he apologized. I felt bad for him. I felt even worse for not knowing. 

"It's fine. Did I know why before?"

"Yes. You'd comfort me when I'd have panic attacks during my night terrors and you'd always stay by my side. You'd tell me it was okay, and it really helped. As much as those were terrifying times, I miss them. I've missed your comfort," he mumbled. I felt guilty for rejecting him and making him go back to whatever horrors he faced in the night. I so badly wished I knew what he was talking about. I guessed that meant that not all of my memories with him were replaced with Eren. Some must have just gone away completely. "Why'd you get night terrors and have panic attacks?" I pressed. I knew I shouldn't have been asking, but I so badly wanted to understand him again. 

"That's the part I don't want to explain, sorry Y/N. It's just really hard for me to talk about that stuff. It was hard enough the first time."

"O-Oh, okay."

The two of us lay there, talking for hours. He had so much to say about our past relationship. It devastated me that I forgot all of it. I couldn't even imagine how he must be feeling and what baffled me the most was the fact that he still loved me, even after all of this. How was I special? Why me? Armin sat up and fumbled around in the picnic basket.

"I almost forgot about this."

I sat up beside him and watched curiously. I admired his beautiful blond hair and glittering blue eyes. For a second there, I felt that tingling feeling again. Armin took out a leather-wrapped item and placed it on my lap.

"For me?"

"Yeah," he muttered shyly looking away. My curiosity got the best of me and I immediately began unwrapping it. Inside, I found a pretty gold-chained necklace with a jewel complementing the middle. It was stunning. I could already feel my face warming up. "D-Did you buy this?" I asked. 

"Yes, I hope you like it. It's your birthstone."

He was so thoughtful. "It's so beautiful, I-I don't know what to say," I stammered. I sat there in awe for a quiet 30 seconds before speaking again. "T-This must have been expensive, at least let me owe you back," I insisted. 

"No, please. You promised me that I could pay for you on your birthday since you paid for mine. You said I wasn't allowed to owe you back in any other way."

"Are you sure you want me to keep this?" I questioned. He said yes, looking up at me nervously. I handed him the necklace. I asked him if he could help me put it on and he said he could. I turned around and swung my hair over my right shoulder. He fiddled around with the clasp for a few seconds before getting it, then moved my hair back over it.

"Done."

I turned around and looked down at it. The jewel glimmered in the light from the setting sun. "It looks beautiful on you. It was meant for you," he told me. I thanked him. I hadn't felt this strongly about him before. Armin looked up at the sky. "It's getting dark, we should get going," he stated. We got up. 

"We can leave this stuff here, I'll be back for it tomorrow."

"Are you sure? I can carry it."

"No, it's fine."

Just as he was about to turn around, I surprised him with a tight embrace. He tensed up at first but eventually hugged me back. It was a long hug.

"Thank you, Armin. I wouldn't have wanted to have spent my birthday in any other way."

"Y-You're welcome," he stuttered. Once I let go, we walked down the hill in silence. The only sound we listened to was the grass crunching beneath our feet. At the bottom, Armin stopped.

"Armin?"

He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me in for a kiss. His plush, smooth lips were so warm. It was calming but at the same time, shocking. He squeezed his eyes shut, tight. All of a sudden, it hit me. A sudden burst of everything came back. It was like my life was flashing before my eyes, except it wasn't my life, it was everything I had forgotten. I remembered everything.