Violets (Mikannie)

18 - Revenge

I still don't know anything about cops
---

One of the investigators had offered to drive Armin home. He obliged, but asked to be dropped at the police station first. He had some information that he didn't really want to share in front of Mikasa's dad. Or Mikasa, for that matter.

So he sat, in the waiting room of the local police station, waiting for a meeting with an officer. He had his phone out, just scrolling through his Instagram feed. Somebody had shared a theory about Historia Reiss being an immortal, and Armin smirked, knowing the truth.

Armin scrolled on. He'd read his fair share of immortality theories. Hell, he'd planted some of them.

Armin almost didn't notice the two teenagers being escorted into the station in handcuffs. He looked up and his heart leapt with fear as he recognised the two.

Hurriedly, Armin tried to obscure his face. This was a reunion he was not looking forward to at all.

The cops escorted them through without either of them seeing him. Armin breathed a sigh of relief.

--

Half an hour later, Armin had finished talking to the officer, telling them everything about them finding Annie - excluding the fact that she was awake and at Mikasa's house. As far as the police knew, Armin and Mikasa had simply stumbled upon the crystal one day, and that they had been stalked and attacked by somebody who was suspected to be Donovan Tech, but had no proof.

"That's an awfully bold claim," the officer had said. They had excused him afterwards with a promise to get back to him on that. Armin wasn't sure if they truly believed him, but as long as it was out there then there was a chance of getting some outside help. 

After being dismissed, Armin went straight to the bathroom. The main reason why he went had nothing to do with actually needing the loo. He locked himself in a stall, closed the toilet lid, curled up on the lid, and started to cry.

When he was thirteen, Armin transferred to the local private school. The thing was, he didn't know anybody there, so his days were lonely. Until one science lesson, when he was paired with a boy he had seen before. He hadn't seen him at school, though. Maybe on the streets? 

"My name's Eren," he had said. And that name. He knew that name. 

However, the feeling didn't develop past deja vu until a few days later, when Eren invited Armin to sit with him and his cousin at lunch. And when he was introduced to the girl in question, he was hit with the vivid memory of being held in the warm arms of a black haired woman that looked an awful lot like the girl in front of him. And at the same time, a memory of Eren introducing him to this girl. However, their clothes were old fashioned, and the buildings looked nothing like the ones in their town. 

The three children looked at each other, knowing that the others felt that too.

In the years since, Eren and Armin had reconciled, and even delved into that romantic relationship they never got to have the first time around. And, alongside that, he and Mikasa had picked up their friendship as well.

Sometimes, remembering two past lives got a bit hectic. While Eren and Mikasa could remember their lives well, Armin found that many details were fuzzy or just not there at all. For example, Mikasa might reference something that had happened in his (second) childhood, and he would have to explain that he couldn't remember, and she would go quiet. Like the fact that he had siblings. That felt right, but at the same time he could not visualise their faces at all. Perhaps with time he might remember them.

Oh, god. His mind was rambling again. It did that sometimes.

Eren. That was what he had been crying about. He didn't know what was going to happen next. What could Donovan Tech be doing to Eren?

The door to the bathrooms opened, and Armin stopped himself mid-sob. He didn't want to attract anybody's attention.

He wiped at his eyes, and started taking deep breaths to calm down. Everything in life was about appearances, and when he left the stall he was going to appear calm and collected.

When he was certain that he wouldn't start crying again, Armin opened the stall door and went to the sinks. He washed his hands (even though he hadn't actually used the toilet, he was paranoid that just being in here would attract germs) and then he splashed water on his face to make the redness disappear.

He turned off the tap, and reached for the paper towel dispenser. He grabbed two sheets, and dried his face. There. It didn't look like he had been crying at all. As he was about to leave, the toilet flushed and the stall door opened, and out stepped the one person in the world that Armin never wanted to see again. Thankfully, he didn't recognise Armin. He saw this as a good sign. Perhaps it wasn't him. Perhaps Armin could sneak away without confrontation.

But as that boy washed his hands, he slowed. He turned off the tap. He turned towards Armin, nerves flaring.

Before he knew it, Armin was pinned against the wall.

He knew he shouldn't say what he was about to say. It would be horribly insensitive, and not appropriate in the current situation. But this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. He only had one shot to make this comment, and the words seemed to form without him thinking about them. It was almost as if he wasn't in control as he spoke.

"Be careful with that wall, Bertholt. You wouldn't want to... break it, or anything."