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

24•Dreams

The poor girl had been walking for hours. Maybe four or five, actually. The soles of her feet were aching but she didn't pay much mind to them. It had started raining sometime along the way. She was drenched by the time she reached the doorstep of her destination.

-

Armin heard a knock on his door. It was past dark. About 9:30 at night. Every now and then Grampa Arlert would knock on the front door because he couldn't get his keys to work since he was so out of it. But his grandfather had been passed out for a while, so he had no idea who could've been knocking.

He opened the door and was shocked to find a soaking wet Y/N.

"Holy shit, Y/N, what happened?" He hurried her inside. He went to the closet to grab her a towel. She stayed silent the entire time as he handed her the towel.

"Are you okay?" He asked. She nodded and wrapped the towel around herself. The boy grabbed her hand and led her to his room. They sat on his bed and he asked yet another question, "Why are you here?"

-

The (short/tall/average) girl explained everything to him. "It was the first time I had ever said that to him. In any life I've ever had. It was very relieving because he just stood there with this shocked expression. I don't think he knew what to say."

Armin, who sat next to the shivering girl, put his hand on her back and smiled gently.

"At least you finally told him what you've always wanted to say, right?" He reassured before she nodded as a response. "Go take a warm shower, I'll let you stay here for the night, if you want."

She gave a weak smile. "Thanks,"

After that exchange had happened, Armin gave her a sweater and some sleep pants of his so she could change into some dry clothes. Once she was finished changing, the blonde companion of hers let her use the dryer.

"I'll go set up the air mattress." He said. Just as he had turned away, she tugged on the elbow of his long sleeve.

He turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "Can I sleep with you tonight?" She asked as innocently as possible. His cheeks blushed a light pink at the way she had phrased it.

'No, don't think dirty, Armin!' He mentally scolded himself.

Though she said it meaning literally, she knew what she was saying would make him think of the nasty. That's why she smirked.

"What did you just think of, perv?"

He shook his head along with waving his hands back and forth, "Nothing, nothing!" He denied, finding out that he fell in another one of her traps.

"Anyway, I suppose we can. But it may not look right."

She frowned internally, but was pleased with the answer nonetheless.

They laid on the bed facing away from each other. Armin gave Y/N her own blanket to avoid blanket problems.

"Thanks for this." She thanked him before pulling the cover to hide most of her face.

"It's no problem." He chuckled, closing his eyes.

-

'Wrap the cloth around the wound, it will be okay. Tie it, keep your eyes open, shoot a flare to attract attention... Hey, here comes help...'

...
.....
.........

"I'm sorry, but due to the injuries you have suffered you will have to be sent home to rest." Erwin stood at the foot of the bed with a sheet of paper. Hanji was at the wounded girl's side, treating her infections.

She had a damaged kidney, a shattered hip bone, a missing left arm, a missing leg on the same side accompanied with a gash, and a wound on her head resulting in a concussion. This was all because of an attack by the titans that they've been calling the 'armored titan' and 'colossal titan,' who also happened to be their own comrades.

The details of the way Y/N was injured are kind of gory so I'll leave them to your imagination.

Though you can probably guess what side she was grabbed by.

"No, please do not send me home, sir!" Y/N frantically exclaimed, beginning to get anxious. "Please, my father will be really angry with me!"

"Miss L/N, I knew your father. I'm aware of the harsh conditions he has raised you under, however it is required that we send you home due to the severity of your injuries."

"Please, sir. I can still make myself useful." She argued. "Tell him, Hanji, I can still work perfectly fine even after having been injured. I heal really fast."

She sighed, packing up her medical supplies. "Miss L/N, you lost two limbs..."

Y/N hated that name they had for her. Miss L/N. It had something to do with being the daughter of F/N L/N, an honorable war hero before going totally insane. Though most people who called her that, such as Hanji, said it sarcastically. She hates it because she was reminded of her father.

The (tall/short/average) soldier looked down to her clenched fists-well, fist. In her mind it was just put on a table leg under her knee and she's back to normal.

"...May I please see Armin?" She nodded to the door. Erwin slowly walked to the door and turned the handle. After opening it, there stood a sheepishly looking blonde who quickly apologized for eavesdropping.

"Let's go," Erwin said to Hanji, leaving the two lovebirds alone.

Armin pulled up a chair to her bedside. "What happened...?" He gently asked.

"The armored titan grabbed me when I went in for attack. But he did not remove my limbs, so don't worry. They were so messed up that we had to amputate them." She answered honestly.

"You can't tell me not to worry! I thought you were gone when they told me you had been hurt." He said. "How did you live?"

"I set off all of the flares that I happened to be carrying and waited for someone to help me."

"That's risky." He disapproved.

"Though it worked, did it not?" The H/C-ette smiled.

The short male sighed and decided to change the subject. "We found out who they are. The armored and colossal titans, I mean. Reiner and Bertholdt."

"Just as I thought." She responded in a sad tone. She managed to recognize them in body shapes. It was very familiar. It was foreshadowing.

Not to mention that they lived in the same village as Annie, the girl who Y/N was always compared to. She often times overheard cadets saying that they are both cold and that they were exactly alike. But there was one major difference.

One was a murderer, the other was a victim.

On that note, Y/N broke down. She started silently crying like she did as a child. She hasn't done it since she was a child. Everything was too much.

She was never going to be able to function the same with missing two limbs.

Once she goes home, her father would beat her for sure.

Some of the people who she trained with, who nicely taught her to be quicker, quieter, and more efficient, tried to murder her.

Armin pulled her into a hug, though she could only halfly hug her back.

Little did he know, though, that this was going to be their last time seeing each other. Alive, anyway.

The next time Armin saw Y/N, she was hanging from the ceiling of the library with nothing but a rope around her neck to hold her up.