The Gift of Memory (Armin Arlert x Reader|Modern AU)

22•Love?

With pain in her chest, she stood up and turned away, continuing to walk to the girl's' cabin.

"Ah, wait! I'm sorry." Armin quickly stood up. He was about to grab her hand again but decided against it. She actually stopped this time.

"I keep making everything a mess." Y/N confessed after turning around. "My apologies. Actually, I'm sorry. Really."

She was looking at the ground.

"What are you saying?" Armin furrowed his eyebrows. She clenched her fists.

"Everyone is yelling at me and I don't know how to fix what I've messed up. My father, my brother, the superiors, fellow cadets, and even you. After doing what you did to me, I figured it would be best if we didn't associate, but it made things worse." The poor girl was trembling. "All I know how to do is mess everything up."

She was suddenly pulled into an embrace. She stiffened up since she never really experienced a hug since she was a child. She awkwardly placed one hand on his shoulder blade before they parted.

-

"So you've never seen your parents kiss or any townspeople kiss as a kid?" Armin clarified as he wiped down the beds.

"No, my parents never... kissed. They were rarely in the same room and when they were, they avoided contacting the other." The (tall/short/average) girl sweeped beneath the bed.

"And the townspeople?"

"I was not allowed outside as a child. If I were to go outside, it would be behind the house, privately."

"Oh..."

There was a silence.

"What is it?" Y/N broke the silence. "Kissing?"

Armin scratched his cheek with his index finger. He was thinking of a way to explain it. "Uh..." he trailed off. "It's a way to show someone you like that you care about them."

"So you've done that to Eren?"

The blonde almost choked on nothing. He turned around to face her with a nervous smile, waving his hands. "No, no, no! It's something people who are married or courting do!" He awkwardly chuckled.

"Then why did you do that to me?" She tilted her head.

His face became pink as he went back to cleaning the bed rails. "Because I like you in that sort of way." He confesses, not daring to face her.

"Oh,"

There was a silence for a few minutes. It wasn't too awkward, at least not on Y/N's side of it. She was thinking. Sweeping and thinking. She wasn't paying attention and accidentally whacked herself in the head with the broom.

She clenched her eyes shut as it made contact with her eye.

She took a moment to rub her eye before trying to open it. However her right E/C eye hurt so she just kept her eye shut and continued sweeping.

It was really an airheaded way to injure herself. When her eye teared up and she started to sniffle is when she caught Armin's attention.

"Hey, are you okay?" The blonde asked, laying down his cleaning supplies and walking over to the injured girl.

"Yes, I seem to have poked myself in my eye. I will be more attentive from now on." She promised him, continuing to sweep. He sighed.

"Can I see it?" He asked.

"It will be okay." He knitted his eyebrows together.

"Please?" He softly begged. This made her cheeks heat up. She felt the same feeling as she did after he kissed her.

She was hesitant, but she couldn't avoid his gaze. "...Okay. I suppose."

-

"It's really red, you should get it checked by one of the doctors." The short male suggested.

"It would be a waste of both their and my time. I can see out of it, so it is fine." Y/N closed her eye and rubbed the tears away.

Truth is, growing up whenever Y/N got a cut or pretty much just any injury that wasn't a bone break, her father told them it would be a waste of supplies to care for said injury if it's not permanent or fatal. Years of training that lead to many harsh injuries. A little agitated eye was absolutely nothing.

Armin furrowed his eyebrows. He still had his hand on her cheek but he didn't seem to notice. She didn't either, or perhaps she didn't care. Who knows?

"Fine then. I'll clean it."

-

Armin had gotten a clean rag from the cleaning closet and soaked it in water before squeezing it out. "Just hold this to your eye, okay?" He instructed

"Yes," the girl did as told. After putting it on, her friend went back to cleaning. She watched him, thinking once again until she spoke up.

"Armin?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks,"