Oh my god something that isn't porn! This is sort of how I would like this series to go; a bromance-come-training montage where Levi goes all Li Shang on Armin because I quite like both of them and I think it would be fun (also Armin really does need to toughen up). Anyway here is the first installment of what my friend and I have affectionately named Armin-strong after a daft photo I saw of Armin with Armstrong from FMA's face, hope you enjoy it :)

Armin took a deep steadying breath. If I'm actually going to do this it's now or never. He could see Levi retreating down the corridor, having finished with dinner he was most likely escaping to the privacy of his room. Levi never hung around the rest of the regiment much, not these days anyway. Armin had no idea what he had been like before the last scouting mission to get to Shinganshina had been a total failure but now he kept himself to himself. It was why Armin knew this was going to be a difficult conversation but he needed to have it. He needed to get stronger no matter what it took.

So far in his, albeit, short military career Armin had come up against the Titans three times and each time he had been woefully unprepared to deal with the horror they brought with them. Trost was the worst. In Trost he had just sat there unable to do anything but watch as each member of his squad was killed. If it wasn't for Eren he would have died with them, but not the easy death of hitting the side of a building face first and breaking his neck. No, being eaten alive and having to wait for death in the belly of the beast while looking at all the other bodies of your fallen comrades in there with you would be a much worse way to go. After the battle Eren had told him what it was like and it did not sound like something Armin ever wanted to experience for himself.

Stohess and the Exterior Scouting Mission had been marginally better. Even though he hadn't been able to add anything to his disappointingly pathetic kill count of zero he had at least been able to use his head. If nothing else he had worked out that Annie was the female Titan and that had been a big part of her capture, although once again he had played no actual part in that capture... not really. As soon as she was no longer human that was all Eren.

After that Armin had realised that he needed to get stronger. He had to if there was any hope that he was going to survive. Built like a daffodil but academically brilliant, Shadis had said about him and, while he appreciated the 'academically brilliant' part, and had proven that numerous times over, he knew that he was still leagues behind people like Reiner, Jean, Eren or Mikasa when it came to fighting. It constantly felt as if he were running to catch up to his friends to even be close to their level of skill but that was no more.

"Captain Levi," Armin called just as the man in question was about to turn the corridor and disappear. Levi stopped and turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. He already looked bored as Armin ran down the corridor to meet him, saluting as he reached him. "My name is Armin Arlert Sir, I..."

"I know who you are kid," Levi cut him off. "At ease."

Armin dropped his salute trying not to look as if he were preening with pride. He knows who I am! That alone was enough to strengthen his resolve until the little voice in his head brought him crashing back down to earth with a painful thud. He knows who you are because you're friends with Eren; don't get too excited, he knows you by proxy nothing more. Of course... Of course Levi only knew who he was through Eren. Armin didn't have time to get overly depressed about that fact as Levi was still standing there staring at him expectantly.

"Sir I... I was wondering if I could ask you something," he said. Well that was a good start; just prolong the torture why don't you, you fucking idiot!

"You can," Levi replied flatly. His bored expression and permanent scowl had Armin quaking in his boots; he looked terrifying! And this was the man Mikasa wanted to try and take on for beating the living shit out of Eren in a courtroom full of people? Armin had always know that she was a little on the crazy side but knowing that after being alone in Levi's presence for even a few minutes just proved that she was bat-shit insane. That's why it had to be him. That was why Armin couldn't ask anyone else. He took another deep breath. Now or never, just open your mouth and say it.

"Sir I would like to ask if you are willing to train me to become a better soldier," Armin said, his words leaving him in a garbled, nervous rush as he slammed his fist into his chest, saluting again. "I know you have earned the title Humanity's Strongest and the number of Titans you have single handedly taken down is extraordinary so I thought that there would be no better person for me to ask, if you're willing."

"Is this some kind of a joke?" Levi asked after a pause. Armin could feel the anger rolling off him in waves. He was like a storm cloud about to explode and unleash abject fury upon him. If looks could kill the glare Levi was sending his way would have reduced him to a pile of ash. Armin swallowed, hoping that his voice wouldn't crack in fear.

"No Sir," he replied and was happy to note that he sounded surprisingly steady. "I wish to become a better solider but I don't think I have the means to do that by myself."

"I don't take on protégés kid," Levi stated. "You want a mentor go talk to Erwin or Hange, that's more their speed."

"Please Sir," Armin begged. He no longer cared how desperate he sounded; he was desperate and there was no use denying it. He could have gone to talk to either Hange or Erwin, in fact that would probably have been an easier conversation with either of them, but it wouldn't have been the same with either of them. Yes both of them were skilled soldiers; Hange was brilliant if mad and Erwin was a very competent commander but neither of them had the raw power or ferocity of Levi.

"What's in it for me?" Levi asked studying him.

"Absolutely nothing Sir," Armin admitted truthfully. No point lying about it now. "There is nothing I can offer you that will in any way repay you but I will do what I can if you will allow me."

Levi narrowed his eyes, surveying him, and Armin could feel himself trembling. Standing in front of someone who could easily kill him without even trying (and probably made it look like an accident too) and asking them for a favour with nothing to offer in return was about as stupid as taking on a Titan without properly functioning gear. He held his ground though. If he could prove to Levi that he wasn't afraid then there was a chance that he might just agree.

"Are you propositioning me?" Levi asked finally.

"No!" Armin cried instantly. "God, no Sir that's not what this is about at all! I just want to become a stronger fighter."

"Good," Levi said, "because I don't fuck kids."

"I'm sixteen," Armin said. The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them and the look of blind rage on Levi's face made him wish that he could take them back.

"Did I say you could speak?"

"No Sir," Armin replied. Please don't kill me. He hung his head and stared at the floor, unable to take the scrutiny of Levi's cold glare. "I meant nothing by it Sir, I just wanted to ask because you're an amazing fighter and if I could be even half as good as you are then I would consider that an accomplishment."

"Like I said I don't take on protégés," Levi said again. "I already have an annoying useless brat I'm responsible for, I don't need another." He turned to leave and a sudden desperate rush hit Armin. He could feel his only chance slipping away and he was determined to do anything and everything that he could before giving up.

"Please Sir wait!" he cried and, without thinking of the consequences, his hand shot out and he grabbed the sleeve of Levi's jacket. Slowly, almost painfully slowly, just adding to Armin's torture, Levi turned to face him fixing him with the most levelling glare Armin had ever seen on another person. He let go of Levi's jacket as if it had burned him.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Levi asked, his voice surprisingly calm for someone so obviously furious.

"I... I'm sorry Sir... I wasn't thinking," Armin stammered.

Levi said nothing and Armin briefly wondered if the smart thing to do in this instance would be to turn tail and run. Before he could do anything though Levi's hand was in his hair, gripping tightly, and he was slammed face first into the wall.

Armin felt the hard brick of the wall cut his cheek open as the breath was knocked out of him. He wasn't given time to react or catch his breath before Levi used the grip on his hair to pull him off the wall and hold him in place while his knee connected with Armin's stomach.

Pain ripped through Armin as Levi used the leverage he had on his hair to slam his knee into his stomach again. He closed his eyes, curling in on himself as Levi let go of his hair and he sank to his knees, holding his stomach. He coughed, half expecting to vomit, bracing a hand against the floor as he tried to hold himself together. Tears of pain pricked the corners of his eyes but Levi didn't give him much time to recover before he planted his boot on the back of Armin's head and shoved his face into the floor.

Armin turned his head at the last second to prevent his nose from breaking but he felt his lip split open from the impact. He was allowed a momentary respite and he lifted his head only to feel Levi's boot pushing him roughly back down into the floor again. He held down the urge to vomit, imagining that the punishment would be even worse if he did. He felt dizzy and all he could do was close his eyes and wait for it to be over as Levi planted another kick to his stomach, sending him sprawling onto his back.

He looked up into cold grey eyes and briefly wondered if Levi would just kill him there and then. This must have been what it felt like when Levi smacked Eren around in the courtroom but Armin knew that if he lost limbs then they wouldn't grow back. His vision was starting to blur from the blows to his head and all he could do was lie there, nose and lip streaming crimson along with the graze on his cheek and a cut on his forehead, and will himself to stay conscious, praying that it would end soon.

When it seemed that Levi had grown tired of beating him Armin tried to struggled back to his hands and knees again. If he could get to his feet maybe he could convince Levi that he was serious about getting stronger. With a lot more effort than it should have taken Armin managed to roll onto his side and push himself up onto shaking arms only to have another kick to the stomach send him straight back down onto the filthy castle floor.

"Stay down brat," Levi growled. "Know you fucking place."

"Yes Sir," Armin replied, his voice no better than a rasp as he tried to pull air into his lungs to catch his breath. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see the next blow when it came and hoping against hope that it was the last one; that either Levi had tired of smacking him around like a rag-doll or he would just kill him and it would be over. But the blow never came.

With a great deal of difficulty, as they were starting to swell from the blows, Armin opened his eyes to see Levi retreating down the corridor. He let out a silent sigh of relief, thankful that it was over. He closed his eyes again and listened to the sound of Levi's fading footsteps until they suddenly stopped.

"If you're really serious about this be on the training ground at six tomorrow morning," Levi said, not even turning to look at him. "Prove to me you're not completely worthless."

"Yes Sir," Armin said. He felt a rush of elation that momentarily masked the pain coursing through his entire body, that was until he tried to move. He tried to roll over onto his side so that he could push himself to his feet and face Levi; show him that he really was serious. As soon as he moved though pain shot through him and he stopped. If Levi saw him shrinking in agony from a simple beating he might change his mind.

The footsteps continued and Armin watched Levi until he had rounded the corridor and disappeared from sight. He sighed with relief again and lay there, staring up at the ceiling, until the pain coursing through him had subside to a dull throb. He was rather glad that no one had come down the corridor and witnessed his beating or since Levi had left and bombarded him with questions about what had happened. He couldn't stay where he was though. Someone was bound to come down eventually, once they had finished dinner. There was a good chance that Eren was already looking for him but he didn't want to see anyone. It would invite too many questions that Armin wasn't prepared to answer.

It took a lot more effort than it should have done from Armin to roll onto his side and, once he was, he lay there curled in on himself as he waited for the new onslaught of agony to subside. He felt as if he was torn apart and he could feel warm blood still trickling down his face. He wasn't even sure which cut it was from anymore, all he knew was that he could taste copper and he felt sick. He grit his teeth, ready for the next rush and managed to heave himself onto his hands and knees.

Mouth open in a silent scream of pain and limbs shaking Armin managed to at least get that far. He let out a shaky breath, desperate not to make a sound because if his voice started working again he would probably draw the attention of the entire fucking castle. He coughed and red splattered the floor beneath him. He hoped that was just from the cut on his lip and not anything more serious as he spat more blood out onto the stone. The fresh pain that hit with every movement subsided again and he took a deep breath to brace himself for the final push to get to his feet. Once he was standing he could work out what to do next... if he could just get to his feet and stay there for long enough then he would be alright.

Armin pushed himself to his feet and instantly regretted it. The sudden rush to his head, which had already been feeling fuzzy from the beatings, made him dizzy and he found himself falling forwards against the wall. At least you're still standing, he told himself. Despite every muscle in his body seeming to protest he was quite pleased that he was on his feet and seemed to be staying on his feet. Now all he had to do was find somewhere he could clean himself up in, in private.

He knew there was a bathroom on the floor below that only had one working shower so no one ever went there unless they were going to fuck. That would serve well enough and hopefully there wouldn't be anyone horny enough to be there tonight. Going downstairs wasn't going to be pleasant though. With one hand still braced against the wall, in case he fell, Armin began to make his way to the bathroom. Every step was agony; he felt dizzy and sick and like he was going to pass out with any given step.

He had no idea how long it took him to get to the bathroom but finally he pushed open the door and found it blissfully empty. He let out a sigh of relief and pushed himself off the wall. The sudden movement, after taking it slowly for so long, made him retch and he practically ran for the toilet stall before emptying the contents of his stomach into the stained porcelain bowl. It was mostly bile and blood and it burned the back of his throat as he hadn't been able to eat anything at dinner for nerves. He stayed on his knees, hands gripping the toilet bowl so tightly his knuckles went white, dry heaving until he no longer felt like he was going to be sick.

Blindly reaching out he pulled the chain and used his grip on that to pull himself to his feet before slowly (he had learnt his lesson by that point) going over to the huge cracked mirror above a row of broken sinks. Armin looked at his reflection and he almost couldn't believe it was him; the only thing recognisable was his hair and his eyes but even his fringe was sticking together with congealed blood and his eyes were red and puffy.

He tried the tap of the sink in front of him and nothing happened. He laughed wryly to himself – I don't know what I was expecting – and began moving down the line, hoping to find at least one that produced water. Finally the second from the end spurted out an inconsistent stream of brown water. Armin waited for the water to run clear before he cupped his hands under it (thank god it's warm!) and splashed some onto his face. He took another handful, relishing how good it felt against his skin.

He left the water running as he looked up to inspect his face. There was still blood but it didn't seem to be fresh blood which was something. He lip was swollen and split, his eyes were swelling and would probably have some impressive bruises by the morning, his cheek was grazed and there was a gash above his eyebrow. All of that would needed cleaning as well as anything else that he might have picked up underneath his clothes. All would probably need disinfecting as well but that would mean going to Hange and that would mean telling someone that Levi had turned him into a punching bag for a round. Don't think 'I fell down the stairs' is going to cut it here...

Slowly, and with protesting muscles at the movement, Armin began to remove his clothes. He folded them as neatly as he could and placed them on the shelf under the mirror, which seemed to be the only surface in the entire bathroom that didn't look filthy, before inspecting himself. There didn't seem to be any other cuts but there were a fair few bruises already blooming on his skin. Those would be easy enough to cover up – no one was likely to see him naked – and he might just be able to make up a passable lie about his face.

He went over to the one shower that still had a head and turned it on. Much like the tap, disuse had left it rusted and Armin had to wait before clear water started to run out of it but it was warm and it felt amazing. He pressed his hands to the wall and let his head hang forward, watching the watery blood run down his legs to the floor. He stood under the spray long after all the blood seemed to have gone; until he felt as if he was ready to move again.

The hot water had been a god-send but it was only once he turned off the spray that Armin realised he had nothing to dry himself with aside from his uniform shirt or just to settle for putting his clothes back on and dry off that way, neither of which was that appealing. There was a cupboard in the corner of the room and, if Armin was lucky, there might be at least one towel inside.

There were a few; one suspiciously stiff that he suspected people who came down here to fuck cleaned up with afterwards as it looked as if it had been haphazardly thrown in there, one that had mould growing on it and reeked of damp and one, right at the back of a separate shelf, that seemed to be clean.

Armin pulled it out and inspected it. It seemed fine; it didn't smell too bad and it was a better alternative to drying himself on the clothes that he was supposed to wear again tomorrow. He dried himself off and re-dressed before inspecting himself in the mirror again. Now that he was no longer covered in blood his face didn't look too bad – he could just about pass it off as tripping down the stairs.

He hung the towel on a rail to dry, making a mental note to put it away tomorrow so that there weren't just two mouldy towels and a cum towel in the cupboard, and began to slowly make his way back upstairs to the bedrooms.

When he got there most people already seemed to be asleep. He hadn't realised how late it was (cleaning off had clearly taken longer than he had thought it would) and he quietly began to undress. He had just pulled on the comfy trousers he slept in (an old pair of Reiner's that were too small for him but still huge on Armin) when Eren stirred in the bunk above his.

"Armin," he whispered, still a little groggy from sleep, "what time is it?" Armin looked over at the clock on the wall.

"Quarter past twelve," he replied.

"Where you been?" Eren asked rubbing his eyes and shifting closer.

"I went for a walk," Armin lied, "lost track of time."

"You okay?" Eren asked "You sound funny?"

"I'm fine," Armin said reaching up to give Eren's hair a ruffle. "Go back to sleep."

"'Kay," Eren mumbled and rolled over. Armin waited until he heard him snoring softly before climbing into his own bed.

He grit his teeth, his whole body burning as he lay on the mattress although it wasn't nearly as bad as before. He felt himself sag, sinking into the sheets that tonight felt like heaven. Tonight his bed felt like the softest thing in the world and fatigue over took him and he fell asleep almost instantly, his last thought being that the following morning he would show Levi that he was deadly serious and would take anything he threw at him.