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

6•Home

'This is the happiest I've been in a while.'

Armin laid in bed for hours. He couldn't get that out of his head.

'Is she not happy very often? Is she not happy at all?'

He hardly got any sleep. When he woke up because of his alarm, he hit snooze. About five minutes later, it just went off again, so he hit off. His grandfather had to wake him up. He didn't even have enough time for breakfast, so he quickly grabbed a granola bar and ate it when he was running to school.

Passing by the playground, he slowed down as he turned the corner. He looked in and didn't see her.

For the first time in so many years, it was the first time he looked in and didn't see her. It felt empty.

He sped up again, hurrying to get to school in time. But he was so drowsy in class, and he even fell asleep during science!

Christa, a previously mentioned classmate of his, was just about to wake him up. The teacher, however, had other ideas.

"Go on out, I'll wake him up." She smiled. Christa gulped, but nodded anyway.

Everyone knows that this science teacher is a little bit...

Off.

"WAKE UP, SLEEPYHEAD!"

Upon hearing those words, Armin instantly waked and jumped up, hitting his teacher's face with the back of his head in the process, as she was standing over him.

"W-what's going on?!"

The teacher erupted in laughter, holding her face. She then let go of her face and have him a stern look.

"A-ah! I-uh! I-"

"You were sleeping in class, Mister Arlert. This is a surprise from you." She interrupted him.

"I'm sorry, Miss Zoe-"

"Hanji," she corrected, cutting him off again.

"I'm sorry, Miss Hanji. I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Oh, that's right. The fair was last night, wasn't it?" She questioned, tilting her head.

"Yeah."

"Did you stay out too late?" She asked, grabbing a chair from the a desk next to her.

"No. I don't think so, anyway." He mumbled the last part as Hanji pushed the chair up to the desk and sat in it. She then folded her arms across the desk and laid her chin on them, so she was facing Armin, and was a bit close to him a well.

"Then what is it? Issues at home?"

"No! Of course not, nothing's wrong at home." The short blonde half lied. It wasn't the reason he wasn't sleeping, but there were some troubles at home. He never wanted to talk about it, though. "The thing is, I met a girl-"

"And you took her to the fair as a date?"

"How did you know?!" Armin nearly gasped.

"I have my ways," she smirked and winked. "So, I assume you guys went home and you didn't sleep much after your date?"

"Yeah, pretty much-"

"I hope you guys used protection." She said with a blank face.

It was silent for a few seconds.

Then Armin's brain finally processed what she said.

"Miss Hanji, t-that's not what h-ha-happened!" He yelled, stuttering as his face turned red.

"But you just said-"

"I didn't know that was what you meant!"

She laughed, "Ohoho, you're so innocent."

-

"If you told me you had a date, I would've let you go!" M/N, Y/N's mother, gushed.

"It wasn't a date. And father wouldn't have let me go." Y/N said in a flat tone, putting a pair of black leggings on. "Besides I doubt you both would have approved."

"Why? He's not a law-breaker, is he?!" M/N started freaking out. Y/N scoffed upon hearing that.

"I sincerely doubt it." She then picked up a hairbrush to brush her hair. "It's just that, he's not like this family. Or Celine's family."

"I didn't think so. You always refer to your dad's side as 'rich bastards'." Her mother laughed.

"Here, why don't you invite him for the family dinner in a few weeks?" She smiled. "You can show your father that he isn't some kid who convinced you to sneak out last night."

"No way in hell." Y/N's voice as flat as usual.

"Why not?"

"I don't want to make him uncomfortable, or like I'm expecting a relationship from him or something. Besides, B/N will be there. With Celine. I don't want to go in the first place, so I plan on not going." She sat down on the bench in front of her vanity.

"Come on! If you bring him and introduce him as the kid you went on a date with last night, or as your boyfriend, maybe your father will lay off you." M/N walked up behind Y/N and started playing with her hair.

Y/N sighed, thinking for a moment. "It would help Father not think I'm a total disappointment."

"He doesn't think you're a disappointment."

"You heard him last night. He thinks I'm some slut." She looked to the side with her eyes and mumbled, "You guys never acted like this when B/N was dating."

"Well, that's because B/N wasn't sneaking around, and sneaking out to go on dates."

"He also only dated people from rich families. So he didn't have to sneak around. Besides, I'm not even dating him, you guys just assumed I was. There were, like, five other people there." M/N places her hands on Y/N's shoulders as she spoke.

"We found the texts, we assumed he was the only one." M/N shrugged. "Besides, your father shouldn't care too much about who you date. Whether they have money or not. You know, I was poor before I married into his family."

"A girl marrying into a rich family is different than a girl marrying out of a rich family. Father wants to make sure I end up in a rich family. It would actually be fine if B/N married a poor or middle class girl, because he's bringing the girl into the family." Y/N turned around to face her mother. "Families like us are supposed to be conservative and that's the conservative way of marriage. You know this, too, so don't play optimist."