Everyone Has a Softer Side

“Are you sure you’re fine?” Eren asked, voice glazed with concern, as he stared down into Armin’s eyes, searching any doubt that the blonde wasn’t showing. He cared for him like a brother, always wanting the best for Armin no matter the sacrifice. Since they were kids, Eren always looked out for him when he was weak and vulnerable, but now that he was stronger, he didn’t want Eren to worry about him. He could take care of himself. After years of just slowing his friend down due to his lack of physical strength, he wanted to prove to Eren he could take care of himself.

“I’ll be fine.” Armin mumbled, giving a soft smile up at the concerned burnette, who returned it.

“Okay. Just making sure. That looked like a nasty fall.” With a ruffle to his silky blond locks, Eren left to change out of his gear and try to relax a bit. The mission was tough, but they managed with few casualties, much to everyone’s relief. Or at least... almost everyone.

Once Eren was out of sight, Armin let go of the act and winced at the sharp pain throbbing at his wrist. He could handle it. It was nothing. He needed to be strong. He couldn’t let Eren always worry about him. Biting down carefully at his bottom lip, he slowly pulled back his sleeve to get a better look at his injury. It was bruised, but definitely not broken. Maybe just a minor sprain that would heal within a few days. He hoped.

“Hey. Go to nurse to have that checked out.”

Armin’s eyes snapped up to the doorway, seeing a pair of uninterested, dull grey eyes staring at him.

“N-no, corporal. It’s fine. Doesn’t even hurt…” the blonde murmured as he pushed his sleeve back down, unable to look Levi in the eyes. “It’ll be fine by tomorrow. Don’t worry.” Footsteps drew near him until a pair of brown boots were in his line of a vision.

“Give me your hand.” Levi said sternly as he held out his.

Hesitantly, Armin obeyed and placed his hand on the corporal’s. His sleeve was pushed back up, exposing his injury. He sucked in a sharp breath as a finger was placed gingerly on his bruised skin.

“See? You’re not okay.” Levi muttered as he let Armin withdraw his hand, hiding his wrist once again. “Go see the nurse and get patched up. Stop being so stubborn.”

“I just don’t want people to worry about me…” he whispered as he stared at his boot, swinging it gently as it hovered above the ground from his spot on his bed. A soft sigh was heard in front of him.

“People are going to worry about you if you don’t get that treated. It’s not possible to completely take care of yourself. There are going to be some things you need other people to do for you, even if it worries someone close to you. In the long run, it’s better to have them worry a little bit while the injury is easy to heal, rather than wait and have them worry even more at the nasty, untreatable affliction.”

Armin stayed silent.  

“Wait here.”

The words caused the blonde to look up, not because of what the words were, but how they were said. They were… gentle sounding. Much more gentle than the usual stern voice Corporal Levi had. It almost made Armin think that his hearing was damaged as well. As Levi left the room, he couldn’t help but to wonder if Levi has a softer side to him, and if so, what kind of person was he really was past the blank expression he always wore. He was sincerely curious as he found himself thinking about what it would look like if the corporal smiled, or how his laugh sounded, or even how caring he could be underneath his nature that seemingly pushed everyone away.

Levi returned with a medical box in his hand, and as he approached, Armin tried to picture a smile on his face. It was hard to, and he just couldn’t get the image to surface from the serious look cemented on his face.