Alone Together - Armin x OC

Three. (TW)

-- This may be a trigger warning to some, it contains themes of PTSD, a horrible topic but crucial to the story, if I offend anyone, I apologise in advance. Stay safe --

And I said I'll check in tomorrow if I don't wake up dead.

~ Two weeks later - Flashback ~

"Where the hell are my parents?!" I barked at an elderly female doctor, collecting dead bodies. Her white coat which just reaches the bottom of her thighs was covered in splatters of blood and mucus and her white wisps of hair was tied up in a small ponytail.

She hushed, "Calm down dear! Just give me their names and I'll see if we've recorded them as dead." I gave her their names and she checked through her clipboard, she sighed, hanging her head in disappointment. "I'm so sorry." She murmured before I collapsed to the floor and broke down. They're gone, I thought as angry tears poured down my cheeks, and it's all my fault.

~ Reality ~

"Rena..? You okay?" Armin soothed, resting his hand on my back as a form of affection, bringing me back from the horrific flashback. I looked around to find myself outside the walls, sat on a blanket, underneath a fort made out of a waterproof sheet and sticks and leant on Armin's shoulder, as rain poured around us both.

"Yeah.. I'm still a bit traumatised by the whole situation." I admitted as I turned my head away from him and a single tear made its way from my one dead eye down my cheek. I hadn't slept for a few days, I refuse to sleep because of the nightmares I was suffering with. "I haven't slept well, as you can probably tell.."

"I understand that, I watched Eren being eaten by a Titan and that gave me nightmares for weeks."

"I don't mean that. I can't help but feel like I should have joined the survey corps a long time ago, I could have protected my family, it's all my fault. Jean should have just left me to get eaten." I revealed quietly as I tucked a piece of my naturally short brown hair behind my ear and more tears rolled down.

"Don't think that, don't you ever think that!" Armin commanded, "You've got to stop blaming yourself, what could you have done?"

"I could have saved them. I could have hidden them away from the titans. I could have-" I sobbed before Armin grabbed my hand.

This is the road to ruin and we're starting at the end.

"Serena, don't blame yourself. What's been done has been done, and we can't do anything about it. My family and friends died too, and I could have done something about that. But I don't dwell on the past, and neither should you," Armin wiped away my tears, took both my hands and spoke in the softest tone, "I'm going to help you through this. And Eren and Mikasa will too, I guarantee it." I thanked him and ran off to get a drink and some food for us.

~ Armin's POV ~

As I watched Serena run off, a soaking wet Eren snuck up on me and enquired, "Hey Armin, I heard you were going to ask out Rena today?"

"Yeah I did. But she had a flashback as I asked her so she was kinda preoccupied." I muttered, I love her a lot and I really want her to get better. She has been going to a therapist since we first met, I don't want her to suffer anymore, my heart breaks every time I see tears in her eyes, every time I see her beautiful smile curve into a frown.

"Well, better luck next time." Eren sighed as he patted my back and pushed back his own dark wet hair.

"But what if there is no next time? What if I keep waiting for the perfect chance but it all goes wrong? What if she rejects me?" I worried out loud.

"Well think of it this way, the more negative you are, there's more chance of things going wrong. You got to be more positive! But anyways, I know for a fact she won't turn you down. Trust me on this one." Eren winked and walked off as Rena sat back down next to me, carrying a bag of which I assumed had food inside, with an embarrassed look in her large doe-eyes.