Notes: Mer Christmas! Well day after Christmas. I was planning on posting this last night but I didn't have a chance to finish reading it over one last time. I finished the majority of this months ago but I was never happy with it enough to post it. Then I finally got to adding that last part it and got someone's opinion on it. This is by far the longest chapter and I hope you enjoy it!
Pain, Armin awoke to very intense pain. His head was spinning and his vision was blurry. There was a burning sensation in his neck and wrists that made tears spill out of the corners of his eyes. He was vaguely aware of two fuzzy blurs moving around him but he couldn't make out details. Moving slightly he realized there was something attached to his right arm. Where was he? What was going on?
He let out a quiet whine when whatever he was lying on was abruptly jerked up and then back down all in half a second. Okay, so some sort of vehicle? Learn how to drive moron. But why was he here? The last thing he remembered was...he was in his house and Eren had been there...and-
E-Eren…?" He wasn't even sure if he had even managed to speak audibly. He catches a third blur in the corner of his eye as an oxygen mask was placed over his mouth.
A small whimper escaped him as he felt darkness dragging him under. Feeling panic start to rise in his chest he weakly reached out. He forced his eyes open when he felt another hand grasp his own. He was pretty sure that was the brunet. Through what faint noise he could hear it sounded like his friend. Armin couldn't really understand what Eren was saying but the sound of the familiar voice managed to calm him down a bit. Confused, scared azure eyes met saddened emerald green one's and for several moments they just stared at each other. Ignoring the pain, ignoring everything, they focused on one another. Communicating without words. A comforting smile spread across the brunet's face and the smaller male smiled back softly.
Armin squeezed the other's hand, his eyes slowly closing once more as anesthesia pulled him under. He didn't even try to fight it, knowing everything would be fine. He trusted his friend. As long as Eren was by his side he would never let anything bad happen to him.
— Nine years prior
The flurry of snow quickly rained down harder and thicker as the afternoon faded into the evening. The sun slowly set and the temperature began dropping into the teens. The waiting room of Saint Reiss Hospital was mainly quiet save for some small chatter amongst a few nurses. A small blond was seated on a raven haired man's lap, a blanket draped over his shoulders. The little boy was clutching a ripped bunny plush to his chest, trembling slightly.
"Let me hold him."
Levi nodded and carefully handed the child over to Erwin. He had only been with them for about a year now. Honestly he wasn't much of a children's person but this kid had quickly grown on him. Armin had happily accepted him into the family, even calling him 'mommy' to the short man's dismay. The small boy had even baked him a cupcake on Mother's Day. It had tasted horrible but Levi appreciated the sentiment. If you looked close enough it was easy to see the concern on his face behind his usual expression that appeared non-caring to most.
"It hurts," Armin sniffled, clinging to his father tightly.
Erwin frowned and rubbed his sons back comfortingly, "I know. I'm sure the Doctor will see you soon enough." This wasn't the first time Armin's had to go the hospital after being beat up but this time the other children had acted even more violent than usual. Along with Armin's several cuts, bruises, and a bloody nose his left leg had also been broken. Luckily they lived relatively close by to the hospital. He'd have to to have another talk with those kids and their parents. Maybe he'd bring Levi with him this time.
"Armin Arlert? The Doctor will see you now," one of the nurses called from a doorway, making her way over to them with a small wheelchair.
Erwin stood, attempting to pull the blond off of himself, "Armin, you need to let go of me.
"Okay…" Armin reluctantly released his grip, letting himself be placed in the wheelchair. He kept his head down as he was pushed down the hallway, holding a tissue to his nose. The bleeding finally seemed to be letting up a bit. At least his nose didn't seem broken.
"Doctor Jaeger will be with you in a moment," the woman said as she pushed the wheelchair into one of the rooms.
Armin really wasn't too fond of hospitals. There was too much white, the gowns were stupid and poorly designed, and there was this nauseating overly clean smell throughout the whole place. One of the older boys had once told him of the morgue located somewhere beneath one section of the hospital. The thought always left an unsettling feeling in his stomach. But he did like Grisha.
The small blond glanced beside him, reaching out for his father with a whine. Erwin quickly stepped closer, allowing Armin to cling to his arm.
"Evening Armin," a familiar voice spoke.
Armin glanced towards the doorway, "Hello Mr. Jaeger." Grisha gave him a small smile, walking towards them with a clipboard in hand.
"The older children again?
Erwin simply nodded with a frown. Grisha sighed, shaking his head. He'd lost count of how many times he's had to treat Armin now. He handed the blond another tissue for his nose as he knelt down to check over his leg. After a couple of minutes he leaned back,
"His leg is definitely broken but we'll need to take some x-rays to determine what kind of fracture he has." He spent a few more minutes checking over some of his other injuries before he moved to grab some band-aids. Holding up a few small boxes of them Armin pointed to the Batman themed ones in confirmation. Grisha bent back down and disinfected the cuts first before placing the band-aids on them.
After that he moved to grab an IV stand. He began searching through some cabinets as Erwin carefully placed Armin on the small medical bed.
"I'll be giving you some pain killers now." The child nodded, still keeping his head down. The adults didn't even bother trying to pry the plush bunny away from him. Grisha pulled on some medical gloves and dipped a cotton ball in some cleaning alcohol before wiping the crook of Armin's elbow with it. Another nurse came over as he wrapped a tourniquet around the boy's upper arm. The man checked over the catheter tubing before placing the needle inside of it.
Armin bit down on his lip and turned his head, shutting his eyes tightly. Sure he was used to this procedure but he still didn't like needles. His father placed a hand on his shoulder and the smaller blond forced himself to relax. All the while Levi stayed by the door of the small room. He was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed. The raven haired male really didn't consider himself the best at being comforting so he stayed off to the side silently.
The nurse gently held the boy's arm steady as Grisha inserted the needle into his arm. Blood began to fill the hub of the catheter, indicating he had directly hit the vein. It was a skill any good doctor had. He cautiously pulled the needle out of the vein, keeping pressure on the skin. He made sure the catheter was in the vein before pulling off the tourniquet. After that he secured the lower part of catheter hub with some sterile bandages.
"It's almost over," Grisha paused to ruffle the boy's hair lightly, smiling when Armin relaxed some more. He pulled the needle the rest of the way out, disposing of it in it's container. He placed the IV tubing into the end of the catheter and locked it in place. With that done he secured the IV against his skin and placed a piece of tape over the hub before making a loop in the catheter's tubing. After another minute of taping and checking the flow of fluid in the IV he was done.
"There, that wasn't so bad was it?" The blond pried an eye open to look over his arm as Grisha began heading towards the door, "You should start feeling better in a few minutes. I'll be right back," he disposed of his gloves and headed out of the room.
"You doing okay?"
Armin glanced up at Levi and nodded, "Yeah" He stared at the IV with a small grimace.
The next few minutes went by relatively fast and soon enough the pain medicine kicked in. Armin adjusted himself on the bed so he was seated a bit more comfortably, careful not to mess with his IV. His mind wondered back to earlier events, causing the blond's shoulders to slump. Stupid older kids. He clutched his broken plush tighter. They were just meanies. He had tried just ignoring them at first but the things they said-
"We'll be taking those x-rays now," Grisha spoke as he re-entered the room, interrupting the boy from his thoughts. "Follow me," he waited for Armin to be placed back in his wheelchair before leading the way to the x-ray room. Levi pushed the IV stand as Erwin pushed the boy's wheelchair.
Grisha really was Armin's favorite doctor. The man had treated him multiple times and in the blond's eyes the man could fix anything. He was one of the nicest doctor's he had met and it was obvious to see how much he really cared about what he did.
The next couple of hours went by rather slow after the x-rays were taken. Armin was on the medical bed, still holding Flopsy as Erwin and Levi talked with Grisha outside. The x-ray images had finally come out and the small blond wasn't really paying much attention to their conversation. I just want to go home already... The one thing he had managed to over hear was something about needing surgery. No, no, no. He didn't want surgery. Just the thought of it made him start to panic.
"Are you going to die?"
"W-what?!" The small child looked absolutely horrified at the notion. Was he?! No, he wasn't. Right? Wait, who had even asked that?! It was an unfamiliar voice. Armin, cautious of his injuries, sat up and looked around. He was meant with the gaze of a little brunet boy with big green eyes.
"Eren, shush," Grisha said sternly as he broke away from his talk with Erwin and Levi. He shot Eren a small glare that made the boy wince. Doctor Jaeger glanced over at Armin reassuringly, "You're not going to die." The blond visibly relaxed.
"Eren why aren't you still in the daycare area?" Grisha sighed. He really wasn't surprised that his son had left.
The boy pouted and crossed his arms, "It was boring there...I thought I'd get to watch you work today."
"You know how busy I am. I don't have time to keep an eye on you and my patients."
"But Dad," Eren drawled rather annoyingly.
Grisha stared down at him for several more seconds before he finally gave in. "Fine, why don't you keep Armin some company while I talk with his parents?"
The small brunet's face lit up and he nodded enthusiastically, "Okay!"
Grisha turned back towards Erwin and neither him nor Levi made any objections about Eren as they were shown some papers and their discussion resumed.
Eren moved closer to the other child and remained smiling, "Hi."
Armin gave him a small awkward and hesitant wave, "Hi..."
They both remained silent for a few more moments before Eren titled his head, "You have a weird name."
Armin's frown deepened and he turned away, hiding his face in his plush. Well this was just great. Another meanie. Just his luck. What a great day this was. There was a reason he preferred to hang out alone or with just his parents.
Sensing he had unintentionally upset the fair-haired kid Eren quickly added, "Weird doesn't mean bad." His smile returned when Armin peered out from his bunny. Looking him over he pointed to his band-aids, "I like your band-aids."
The blond's lips curved upwards into a small smile, "Thanks." Okay maybe he wasn't so bad after all. Maybe he hadn't meant to sound mean earlier. Armin watched as Eren clumsily climbed onto the bed with him. They again sat there silently for awhile with Levi occasionally glancing at them, keeping a watchful eye. Armin chewed on his bottom lip nervously when his gaze moved back to the adults. Were they sure about surgery? Maybe they were wrong. He really hoped so.
Eren stared at Armin, confused by his new frown. What was wrong now? Turning his head he listened in on his father. Oh, surjery? That must be why he looked so upset. He scooted closer towards the other child,
"I'm sure you'll be fine, my Dad's a genie—genu-" Eren furrowed his brows in annoyance as he tried to remember the word. Ah, he'd just try and think of it later. "He's really smart!" When Armin didn't respond or stop frowning the brunet's shoulder slumped. Hm...
"What's its name?" Eren motioned at the bunny Armin was clutching onto tightly. Armin seemed reluctant to answer as he looked down at his plush and back at Eren several times.
"Mr. Flopsy."
"Ooh, okay," Eren nodded. "Can I hold him?" He asked innocently.
Armin looked almost offended at the question, shaking his head as he held onto Mr. Flopsy even tighter. "No...he's broken," his voice was quiet and sad, his head hanging low.
"Oh..." Eren frowned himself when suddenly an idea came to him. He smiled brightly at Armin, "Can I please, please hold him? I promise to give him back in a few minutes."
The blond glanced back up, staring at him for awhile as he thought it over. What was the worst that could happen? His father and mommy were right outside the door. "Okay..." He finally nodded as he slowly and nervously held out his plush to Eren who quickly took it. The brunet was careful not to drop the dismembered arm and ear as he scrambled off of the bed and searched around the lower cabinets for a step stool. Finding one he stepped up on it and set Flopsy down on a tray.
Armin watched curiously from his bed. What was he doing?
Grisha glanced back over at the two when he heard Eren rummaging through some equipment. When Erwin noticed Eren he paused his speech and took a step into the room. Grisha simply held up a hand to stop the taller man. Erwin raised a brow but complied. He kept his eye on the small brunet as he continued talking.
Eren pulled out some bandages and tape before he turned back to the bunny plush. After about two more minutes he happily stepped down from the stool. He climbed back onto Armin's bed and proudly held out Mr. Flopsy who now had some bandages keeping his arm and ear attached.
He...he fixed him? Wide surprised azure orbs stared at him, mouth slightly agape since he was lost for words. Accepting his plush back he set Flopsy aside before suddenly pulling Eren in for a hug. Though the position was a bit awkward considering his broken leg.
"Thank you." Armin beamed, pulling back from the hug to grab Mr. Flopsy again. That was one of the nicest things anyone's ever done for him.
Eren nodded, "You're welcome," and moved to Armin's side." He was glad he had gotten him to stop frowning now. "So," he drawled, "What happened to you anyway?"
"Some older kids beat me up," he hugged Flopsy to his chest. He had even been shoved off the slide hence his broken leg.
Eren cocked his head, "Why?"
Armin shrugged and stared down, "They don't like me." That and the fact he plays with plushies. And he was already better at learning than them even at this young of an age.
The brunet's brows furrowed again at his answer, "Well that's stupid." That's no reason to beat someone up. Reasons to fight are if someone insults you or something. Eren of all people should know this. Hm, that actually may be the reason he doesn't have many friends... Well besides Mikasa but she doesn't count.
Armin sighed sadly and nodded in agreement, "Yeah..."
Eren sat up straight, "Well I like you."
Armin raised his own brow at him, "But we just met." Not very long ago at all in fact.
"Mmhm, and I like you already. The other kids are just idiots."
The smaller child smirked quietly at that, not bothering to protest.
Eren set a hand on his hip and pointed his thumb at his chest, "And because I like you I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you." He held out his hand and extended his pinky, "I promise."
The blond stared at the hand, his gaze drifting back up to Eren's face which was full of sincerity. Smiling and without a second thought Armin accepted the pinky promise.
— The next morning
"You'll be fine!"
"But didn't you think I was going to die just yesterday?"
The brunet winced, " Well yeah, but that was then. Besides," he smiled proudly and sat on his haunches, " you're being treated by my dad."
Armin strangely didn't find comfort in that thought. Even the most skillful doctors could easily lose a patient, especially during surgery. He wrapped a protective arm around himself, keeping his eyes on the white sheet beneath him. He'd be fine. Nothing would happen. He wouldn't even be conscious during the operation. What could possibly go wrong? A lot of things actually. Things that the small child couldn't help but dwell on.
"Armin!"
He jumped in place, frightened blue hues gazing up at the other child who'd suddenly moved closer to him. Eren. Armin really didn't know why he'd taken such a liking to him. They'd only meant a day ago yet the other boy already acted as if they were good friends. The blond really didn't know how to react to that. He'd never been particularly good at socializing. Was this how friendships normally went? He'd read plenty of books on all kinds of subjects but not this one.
"You're gonna be okay."
The reassuring smile he was meant with was undoubtedly genuine. He still couldn't comprehend why though. Why was he so concerned about him? Why did he care? How could he sound so confident about such an obvious lie? His shoulder's slumped and he adverted his eyes solemnly. "You can't know that..." No one could.
Eren stared at him nonchalantly, tilting his head slightly, " But I promised, remember?"
Armin shot him a glare, shoulder's tensing, "You can't just-" His dark azure, gray tinted optics widened, gazing down at the hand on top of his own. He glanced back up to meet emerald hues, the innocence was plain to see but there was also something else. His brows furrowed in thought for several seconds. Eren was a lot different than the other children. There was just...something about him. Slowly a small smile formed on his face, "Okay..."
The brunet's smile widened and he gently squeezed the smaller boy's hand, "Good! You should be walking again in no time." He grabbed the bunny plush from off the edge of the bed and handed it over to the blond.
Armin nodded, lips curved upwards as he clutched Flopsy to his chest and held onto the boy's hand, "Yeah."
Notes: Ten months late. I honestly have no idea when I'll get out another one considering my muse is more into another story I'm writing but haven't published on here yet.
If you noticed how I've been switching between different third persons, good for you. I have my reasons.
Hoped you enjoyed the chapter and I'm really, really sorry how late this is!