It's Not Your Fault- Armin x Reader

1 Day

Edit: Happy birthday to daddy Armin :3

"Hey, (y/n)," you felt someone shake your shoulder slightly, "wake up."

"Mnng, fuck off." you swiped at the hand, only half conscious after being awake more than most of the night. Your voice was quiet and dry after your night of nonstop crying, it didn't help that your head was pounding at the crazy amount of dehydration your body went through.

"(y/n) it's 7:50. WAKE UP! You don't want to waste our last day before I leave."

You finally woke up from being in your half awake-half asleep state and looked up to see Armin face, with marks and bruises from the day before still clearly there. Armin sat next to you on your bed while gently running his fingers through your hair. He leaned down and kissed your forehead before he spoke up again.

"(y/n), why are your eyes so red? Are you okay? Are you high?" he tried joking with the last part.

You gave him a small chuckle and nodded back to him, trying to tell him you were okay. That was until you remembered what Levi had told you, causing your eyes to tear up with whatever water your body had left.

"Yeah, no, you're not okay. What's wrong?" he sat you up so you were sitting on his lap with your body facing his.

You remained quiet while you started to sob into his chest. His response was to just pull you closer and slightly rock you like a small child. He waited until you started to calm down, or what you could call calming down.

"Now, I want you to tell me exactly what's wrong. I'm not leaving until you do." he pulled your face away from his chest when he said this, being sure to lock eyes with you.

"It's really nothing I swear. I'm just thinking about them." you choked out, your voice barely above a whisper due to the constant use of your voice in the last 24 hours.

Armin seemed to analyze what you said for a few seconds before responding, "No, there's more to it than that. Tell me everything. You know you can trust me."

"I did, okay." you said feeling like how you did with Levi the prior day, "That's all there is to it. Maya and Rita are gone, and like I've said many times before, it's my fault."

"(y/n), you and I both know that there's more to it than that. It'll be easier if you just tell me. I want to be able to help you. I don't want you suffering inside just because you didn't tell somebody about what's bothering you. You can trust me."

The genuine care in his voice made you know that you can trust him, not that you didn't before. You were just reluctant to.

"I-I...I wouldn't know where to start."

"Then take your time. I'm here for you. It's my job to be able to help you when your stressed, which is very clear that you are."

More tears slid down your face as you remained speechless.

"(y/n), I'm going to kiss you, and when I do, I want you to know that you can tell me anything. I want to help you. I would never do anything to hurt you. Okay?" he gave you a look of patience, waiting for your reply.

Slowly, you nodded your head, giving your consent. Armin gently took your face in his hands, bringing you into a loving kiss. It was like all of the bad had went away again. Your lips moved in sync, fitting together perfectly as if you were made for each other. He pulled away first, but kept your face in his hands. His thumbs wiped away the tears that seemed to be never-ending.

"You ready to tell me?"

You took a shaky breath before you started, "When Levi first called me into his office, I didn't know what it was about, but once he started mentioning you everything started placing together. I tried to play dumb for as long as I could, but he eventually started comparing me to Maya, so I snapped at him. That resulted in me getting punished for lying. The punishment being," you paused for a second to try to keep your composure, "the punishment being to stay away from you."

Armin's eyes widened, "He can't just do that, can he?"

"That's what I said."

"But what if he has a point?"

"What?"

"Seriously, what if he's just trying to protect you from more pain of loss. I can't see myself surviving this expedition, and apparently the higher-ups see it too. He wants you to keep away from me so you don't get attached, causing you more pain when I die. (y/n), I don't want you to get hurt because of me. If that's what Levi wants you to do, then that's what you should do."

"NO! Are you insane?! You're one of the reasons I'm alive right now! I'm not going to lose you. You're going to survive the expedition, I know it! Please, you have to." you cried into his chest.

"(y/n), I'm not strong, I'm not smart, I'm useless. You deserve so much be-"

"YES! YOU'RE NOT SMART BECAUSE YOU SAY STUPID SHIT LIKE THAT! Stop doubting yourself please!"

"What did I do to deserve someone like you in my life?" Armin smiled weakly.

All you did in response was lean forward to lock your lips with his again. His arms snaked around your waist while your hands made their way to his soft hair. The kiss was very loving, neither of you moving too fast trying to escalate things, but going at the perfect pace showing how much you treasure each other.

You broke apart after a while, but stayed in each other's embrace.

"I don't care what Levi says, you're not leaving me. I'll stay alive, for you and for me." Armin whispered, "I love you too much to let you go."

"I love you, so much. Please don't leave me."

The two of you really are each other's prized possessions, but you must remember that even the most important objects to someone get lost.....