Reader x Various One shots

Armin x Reader

She had seemed so lively just this morning... No. No, she was lively this morning; she was alive this morning. The smile on her face, the sound of her laughter, that light in her eyes. It felt as though the horrors of this world didn't exist when she was around, life felt lighter, easier, happier. Even knowing somewhere in the back of mind, that any of us could die at any moment, I still allowed myself to be blinded by the idea that I had more time. More time to get to know her, to laugh with her, to confess the growing feelings that I had been harboring, to be with her. I was so drunk on the idea that nothing could touch something as perfect as her that I had somehow forgotten the harsh reality of this world. It's a tragic reality, deceivingly beautiful, but ultimately destructive. Everything wonderful that the world has created has been paired with, or destroyed by, something awful. No matter how I had felt about ____, she had been no exception, not at all above the nature of this life.

I couldn't feel anything when I first saw her, her beauty had made me lose all the air in my lungs and sense in my mind. I found that her beauty was far from skin deep, intelligence and strength was also present in her spirit. For anyone to join the military alone is an act of bravery, but to join something as dangerous as the Scouting Legions? You'd have to had lost some of your sanity, I myself am no exception. But I had the honor of coming here with friends, she came here with no one. Of course some of the other, more social members of our military branch quickly tried to make her feel as welcome as they could by offering polite conversation and friendship. I, on the other hand, found that I could not bring myself to speak in her presence, much less offer her my friendship. My interactions with her boiled down to admiration from afar and polite smiling while passing her in the halls, and in a way I was content. It wasn't until we happened to be assigned to the same chore that our relationship ever progressed.

She shuffled her feet a bit then turned to look at me with a brightest smile I'd ever seen, "Hi, haven't really had a chance to introduce myself to you yet, my name's ____" she held out a hand towards me. The was a fluttering feeling in my chest; I had heard her speak before, obviously, but hearing her speak directly to me.... It was a rather foreign feeling, but an enjoyable one nonetheless. I took her outstretched hand in mine and her smile only grew as we shook, "Armin" I mumbled back. That's when I heard her beautifully wonderful laugh, as she released my hand she said, "I know." She never explained to me why she had already known my name and I was far too flustered by her mere presence to ask. The hours the two of us spent sweeping was almost relaxing, filled comfortable silence and the occasional idle conversation. I often found myself wondering how I could have ever been content with the way things were before? Not knowing just how kind and caring she was, just how passionate she could get about certain topics, or that just the sound of her voice was enough to lull me into a comfort that I hadn't felt in years. She was my source of clarity, tranquility, and absolute peace in this otherwise horrifying world. I never knew just how she felt about me, but a friendship quickly flourished after our day spent together.

Every moment, every single moment spent at her side was a moment spent in peace and happiness. We would sometimes sneak away to read from my forbidden book about the outside world, or to lie in the grass and watch the clouds. It was so strange, a complete sense of trust burned in my heart when I thought of her. I trusted her enough to share my book with her, my thoughts, ideas. It never really mattered to me that we hardly knew each other, because whenever I looked at her, I just-... I felt like I had known her my entire life. A part of me had completely forgotten about the dangers outside the wall, that humanity was in peril, that we were the ones who most directly fought against those horrible beasts. Because being with her, it made me feel stronger than I had ever before; I felt invincible.

But no man is invincible... Everyone has their weakness, their faults, something that can make them crumble to their knees and give up everything. For me, the strength I found with her was also my greatest downfall. She seemed to have the talent of separating out time together from work and when we fought, but I didn't have the the same advantage. I found that I wanted to protect her more than I should. I would go out of my way to find her and make sure she was safe, even if I had to go out of my squadron to do so. I knew what I was doing was silly, stupid even, but I couldn't help it, I couldn't control myself. After seeing me, or hearing that I had come to check on her, ____ would always place her hands on my shoulders and look me dead in the eyes, "you try and keep yourself alive and I'll do the same, but if you don't protect yourself then who will I have when this is all over?" That would always bring me back to the reality of what I had been doing, back to the idea that staying alive was the most important thing. I had to stay alive, for her.