Call of the Broken (and Eremin fanfiction)

Don't Worry

In the courtyard of the Scout Regiment's headquarters, the rest of the Scouts sat around picnic tables. Jean, Connie and Sasha sat together whilst Mikasa kept more to herself.

"What's the deal with that boy Eren bought back?" Jean eventually asked. 

"Apparently they were friends when they were kids," Connie said. Jean scoffed slightly.

"That's surprising, I honestly didn't think it was possible for him to make any friends other than Mikasa," He commented snidely. Back up in the bedroom, Armin was stood by the window, leaning against the class as he gazed out at the soldiers in the courtyard below. He didn't recognize any of them. As he watched them, he wondered what they were talking about. Some of them were smiling and laughing. Armin couldn't remember the last time he'd genuinely smiled. It was probably that last day with Eren in Shiganshina, when he'd showed him the book and told him about his parents' plan. He sighed, recalling back to that night. How was it, in just a few seconds his dream had turned into a nightmare.

"ARMIN, RUN!"  

Armin froze then as his mother's voice echoed through his head. He was back there, frozen as his mother was lifted up in the Titan's hand, screaming at him to run. His father had already been eaten at this point. A deafening crunch filled the air as blood spilled from the Titan's mouth, staining the grassy floor. Armin's stomach lurched violently as he came back to the present, covering his mouth with his hand to stop himself from throwing up. He shut his eyes tightly.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered to himself.

The door opened and Eren came in then, carrying a small tray with a bowl of soup on it. His eyes widened, seeing Armin was out of bed.

"Armin!" He cried, setting his tray on the table and rushing to his side. "You shouldn't be out of bed, you're still weak!" Armin gave a small smile, grateful for Eren's concern.

"I'm alright, Eren," he said reassuringly. He went to stand up then straight then but stumbled slightly, barely able to support himself on his thin legs. Eren quickly but gently wrapped his arm around the blonde boy's waste to support him. Armin tensed slightly, feeling his heart jump at Eren's sudden closeness.

"Thanks," He said, looking up at Eren. Eren smiled back down at him.

"No problem." The two of them went silent then as their eyes met then. Armin felt his cheeks grow warm as Eren held him close, looking up into his dark green eyes. Eren blinked, looking down into Armin's light blue eyes.

"Come on, sit down," Eren said after a minute, gently helping Armin back to the bed. Armin paused as he sniffed the air, smelling the soup for the first time. His eyes fixed on where it sat on the table.

"Is that...food?" He asked, his eyes wide in disbelief. Eren couldn't help but smile at the look on Armin's face.

"Yep, it's vegetable soup," He said, grinning. Armin stared at the bowl, suddenly realising how hungry he was. When was the last time he'd had a full meal after all? 

Armin held the tray in his lap, staring down at the bowl, not saying anything. Eren sat next to him on the bed, looking at him.

"Aren't you going to eat?" He asked. Armin nodded, not saying anything. 

"What did you eat...when you were out there?" Eren asked after a few seconds of silence. Armin thought a minute.

"Well, in my book, there were passages talking about certain plants people can eat that give you nutrients so, at first I lived off those. Then, when I got back inside Wall Maria, I found food inside houses in Shiganshina and, I was able to live off that for a while," He explained. Eren had a thought then.

"How come I found you in the forest? Why didn't you stay in Shiganshina?" He asked. Armin sighed.

"I thought I could make it to Wall Rose if I tried but...I quickly realised I was wrong," He admitted. "Once I made it to the forest, I was too exhausted to carry on any further so, it was back to living off plants."

"Did you ever try hunting?" Eren asked. 

"Yeah, but..." Armin gave a small smile, looking a bit embarrassed. "When it came time to actually go through with the kill, I couldn't do it." 

Eren couldn't help but smile at that. Armin had always been such a softie.

"Well, you don't have to worry about food anymore," He assured him, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. Armin looked over at Eren, seeing the reassuring grin he was giving him. He smiled back.

"Yeah," He said before he gently started sipping at the warm soup.