A Night of Shame
An improvised fic centred around the lovely Armin, a character I hold dear and close to my heart. I hate it when terrible things happen to him but I need to write this to show how rape recovery should be handled.
Chapter 1. Childhood Memories
It was a Sunday afternoon at the trainee boot camp. Armin Arlert was the only boy left at the dorm while all the others had gone to eat with the other trainees at the dining hall. He had sneaked out with a loaf of bread and a baked potato without detection by anyone. He was lying flat on his stomach, reading a book on his bed. This book was one that he had been given to analyse in his strategic course. Unbeknownst to the squad leaders and drill instructors, the book he was given was a special one, a rare book on the outside world that hadn't been destroyed. It was old and dusty but full of fascinating pictures with paragraphs describing the majesty of the world in detail. He was on a page about the desert, something he had heard about long ago in one of his family books. It was a dry, barren landscape, huge in comparison to the walls covered almost entirely in sand. He wondered how tough sand was, if it was brittle or stronger than rock.
"Armin!" He gasped in shock as he quickly hid the book under his sweatshirt. It was Jean."Armin, what the hell are you doing here? If anyone finds you here they'll have your rations cut for two weeks!". He scrambled up off his bed, taking the greatest care not to let his book fall out from underneath his sweatshirt. "What are you hiding under there?" Jean asked, pointing towards the obvious lump beneath the fabric. "Crap, he's found out!" Armin thought. "Let me see it". Armin looked and him and firmly replied. "No!" Jean eyed him suspiciously. "If you don't want to tell me, fine. I could always report this to Instructor Shadis and tell him you're hiding something!" He grinned before turning around. As he was about to leave, Armin called out to him. "Wait!" He turned around "Yes, Armin?" He pulled the book out and held it before him. "What is that?" Jean asked. Armin felt nervous about what to tell him, but he had to tell the truth. "This book was given to me as a present by my grandfather for my 7th birthday. It had been banned shortly after he bought it but I kept it well hidden and it is now the only book from my childhood I have left. It has pictures about things from outside the walls" Jean's expression soon turned to that of a smile, he meant well and he wanted to let Armin know how we felt.
"Armin, I-" Just at that very moment, the door to the boy's dorms flung open. Outside was Ymir and Krista. He had no idea what they were doing out here this late. "Girls?" Jean said. "Shouldn't you be heading back to your dorms? Y'know how much Shadis doesn't like us mingling together at late hours in the evening". Ymir fixed her piercing eyes on Jean and the smaller boy beside him. "I am perfectly aware of that horse-face, I only wanted to see if anyone was here, little Krista doesn't like being alone". Armin clutched the book close to his chest. He didn't trust Ymir. It might have been those unsettling eyes of hers or her close relationship with Krista, the cutest girl in the 104th Trainee's Squad. Something just didn't seem right about her. "Hey loser, what'cha got there?" She smirked at him and went in to have a closer look. "Some book wimps like you only read no doubt!" She plucked it from his hands and opened it up. "Hey! Could you please give me that back?" Jean crossed his arms "Ymir, I think you should-" "Shut up Jean!" She spat out, then laughed at Armin's book. "A book, on the outside?! Ha! If anyone found out you were carrying this with you they'd throw you're miserable little ass out this boot camp" Krista looked impatiently at her best friend. "Alright Ymir, that's enough" Ymir dropped Armin's book carelessly on the ground and stepped out of the room. " Hmph, fine!" She closed the door and left.
Jean looked at Armin scrabbling at the floor to pick up his book. He grabbed it and held it to his chest like a child's toy as tears began to run down his pink cheeks. "Are you alright Armin?" He asked, kneeling down to check on his friend. He sniffed "I... I think so". I'm sorry Armin. He looked at the innocent boy with sincerity in his kindness. "Are you sure?" Armin looked up. "Yes". He stood up, wiping his tears with his sleeves. "I'm okay Jean". The other boys started to come in after they had finished their dinners at the dining hall. By then Armin had hid his precious book underneath his single bed along with his grandfather's hat which had been given to him before he left and presumably died.
