Author's Note: I really am trying to get back in gear with this story but due to a lack of planning I've had a difficult time getting back on track. But I promise you I will see this story through to the end. I was soo tempted to put "Went by without a hitch" XD You'll see what I mean soon.
~oOo~
"Christa!" Reiner called out to the girl as he forced the nurse's office door open.
"Axel!" Hanji returned playfully from her desk.
Reiner stood in the doorway dumbfounded and caught totally off guard. "Who's Axel?"
"Sorry, I'm not too familiar with how this game works."
"This isn't a game, I'm trying to find Christa. I thought she'd be here." Reiner explained, wild eyes searching the room over and over again in disbelief.
"She was, not too long ago. I just asked her and Ymir to stop setting up camp in my office during school hours."
"Did they say if they were going back out to the field or not?"
Hanji shrugged in response. "I told em I don't care where they go but they just couldn't stay here. Knowing those two though they could be getting in any mess of trouble though." Hanji laughed as she continued shuffling through some papers on her desk.
A knock on the door interrupted the two as the person invited themself in.
"Sorry to interrupt… whatever you were doing Nurse Zoe."
"Please, just Hanji. We've talked about this before Hitch."
"Yes well, I prefer it my way." Hitch responded with a stroll, her features lined with a cat-like grin, cheshire that is.
"And what brings you my way Miss Dreyse?" The researcher drawled the last part in a mocking tone. "Was there a problem on the field? I'll be out there as soon as I finish up these few things for the files."
Hitch, clearly more than a little ticked off by the soldier's tone, attempted to continue her business. "No everyone is fine, and it seems that today went by perfectly after Ymir's little hiccup. Principal Smith is now giving the closing remarks to wrap things up."
"Hitch can I have one second with Han-"
"Nope." Hitch cut Reiner off with a hum. She truly enjoyed doing what she did best. "Actually Miss Zoe I came to check on Ymir… to make sure everything was okay with her."
"I'm not so totally detached from the student body that I'm unaware of the ongoing feuds between you and Ymir Hitch, so you can drop the act with me." Hanji spoke nonchalantly.
"Miss Zoe I take offence." the girl feigned hurt.
"I'm offended that my office is suddenly becoming a meeting spot for the children here." Hanji huffed to herself.
"Well Reiner, maybe you can help me." Hitch waved off Hanji's concerns. "I know you three are like this school's newest little menage a trois, so to speak." adding a little taunt just barely above a whisper "It seems to be your thing."
"Ha ha, Hitch. I'm looking for them too." Reiner replied dryly, ignoring the last part. "And I'm already in a fix. I don't know if I can handle any more irritation right now."
She clicked her tongue. "I wasn't looking to team up Braun, just for information. But seeing as you have none, I've wasted my time here."
"It was a pleasure speaking with you as well, Hitch." Hanji threw out.
"I know it is." Hitch hummed as she strolled out just as easily as she entered, the melody of her nonchalant whistling fading into the hallway. The two stood in silence until he sound completely faded away.
"I really can't deal with that girl." Reiner ran his hand over his face furiously in hopes of regaining his bearings. "Hanji please, I need to find them. Did they leave even the slightest hint as of where they were going?"
~oOo~
"Christa, where the fuck are we going?"
"Ymir, if you ask me that one more time..." Christa growled slightly, more than a little irritated after answering the same question with the same tone from the same person for the fifth time in about ten minutes. "For the last time, I thought we should meet up with Sasha and Connie now that today's events are over. Even if just to let them know that you're okay. It was all pretty sudden, plus I'm sure Sasha's still concerned."
"Yup, sounds as uninteresting as the first few times you told me." Ymir sighed, throwing her hands behind her head as she scanned the hall around them boredly.
"If you keep this up, you can kiss lunch goodbye tomorrow."
The skin around the taller girl's nose immediately scrunched up. "Fine." she grunted stubbornly. "Where are the annoying the shitrags anyway?" she grumbled barely above her breath.
"Our friends-" Christa stressed, prompting Ymir's eye roll, "Are waiting for us in the courtyard."
"Then why are we going this way!? It's the long way!" Ymir was quickly and easily silenced by the pain of a tight squeeze of the hand delivered by her 'angel'.
"Just hush and stop complaining." Christa disciplined like a mother to her unruly child. The bull-headed girl huffed but complied, physically relaxing, as the shorter girl could feel the slight loosening on the grip between their hands. "Good."
They walked a bit more in silence, Ymir falling more and more into antsiness with each step. Still, she refrained from complaint, giving her best attempt to actually follow instruction. "Only because it's you." she grumbled subconsciously, a phrase that was becoming like the mantra for their relationship. She was snapped from her less than accommodating attitude when her little blonde abruptly makes a stop in yet another empty hallway, far away from their destination.
"Ughhhh…" Ymir groaned finally. "Why are we-"
The sentence was thrown far from her mind before she had time to finish and she was overcome with a warmth she had become all too familiar with over the past few days. She didn't question it anymore. She didn't try to fool herself into believing she understood it exactly. It didn't make sense. She didn't care. She accepted it. All the apprehension the brunette felt before melted away in a moment, lost with her heartbeat. She eased into the other girl's form and the two silhouettes in the empty hallway molded to one, conjoined at the lips and tied at the waist.
Moments passed. Breathless moments.
It wasn't long until Ymir felt a quick, slick glide across her lower lip. The request was shocking, but one she didn't think twice to oblige. A shy tongue slid timidly past slightly parted lips, unsure of what to do at this point. Gently, she explored the place she had before only caught glimpses of, every so often being nudged on by her host while slowly building confidence. Soon, both were caught up in an intricate dance which slowly transformed into a battle for dominance with every entanglement. A growl emanated from the back of her throat as Ymir began to take control, not that Christa put up any real resistance. Her movements were stronger, bolder, more skilled and experienced. It was strange, but wholly and unquestionably accepted.
Quite some time passed. How much exactly, neither of them knew, just that eventually senses began to return and they remembered that it was impossible to stay there forever. Slowly they pulled away from each other until they lingered at just the tips of their lips, unwilling to break the contact.
"Ymir.." Christa whispered against her lips. "You may be a complete jerk sometimes, but I love you.."
The taller girl smirked, still without breaking contact, pressing in a soft kiss. Her wordless confession.
A few more seconds passed.
"We should probably go see Sasha and Connie before they think we forgot about them."
Ymir groaned. "I did. Can't we?"
Christa rolled her eyes with a chuckle, looping their arms together. "Come on." Her tone was playful but a sharp pinch to the arm conveyed her seriousness clearly.
The two continued their walk through the halls, this time far quieter than before, still arm and arm, never breaking contact for even a second.
~oOo~
The passionate rhythm of fingers tapping away meticulously at an old keyboard ran through the empty library like a quickening heartbeat. The printers screeched in agony as they spat sheet after sheet, precious life substance running dangerously low. The entire room was still minus the one corner of feverous activity, where everything moved and worked in chorus with one master conductor directing it all effortlessly.
Eyes scanned over countless pages of information, carefully itemizing each document on importance, scrutinizing each sentence down to the punctuations, memorizing small details while printing those of utmost importance for reference.
Every so often, the computer would attempt to stop the man at the helm in his tracks and firewall after encryption, the genius mastermind ran through every road block, barely seeing them as speed bumps in his path. His path to the truth. And with every tap, he could feel himself getting closer and closer to this truth.
Sweat rolled from his forehead and in one swift movement he would wipe it away into the brown cuff of his jacket sleeve and return to his typing, never losing momentum. So engrossed in his information quest, he didn't even hear as the library door on the far end of the room opened and shut.
He stopped suddenly as he bypassed one particularly stubborn encryption and the document he had been trying to fight his way into finally flashed across the screen. He scanned over it as quickly as he did the others but as he went through each word his mouth fell slightly, eyes widening as if desperately attempting to take in exactly what he was reading. The orchestra fell silent around him as he reread the words in front of him over and over.
"This… is crazy. It can't be re-real... could it?"
He shook in disbelief. Reaching over to grab some of the sheets cooling in the tray of the printer, the few that managed to cling to the edge rather than joining the mess of ink and paper piled on the floor. He flipped through them, looking up at the document on the screen. His whole body trembled and he nearly gagged, the sweat now draining more profusely.
Engrossed. Totally engrossed in his work. So far gone that he nearly jumped out of his seat when a hand rested on his shoulder.
"Jesus Armin, you've been in here every afternoon for well over a week now! Ain't you finished that project or whatever you're doing yet?" Eren grumbled, unfazed that he nearly gave his best friend a heart attack. "You normally don't take this long to do a paper, what's up?" Mikasa nodded silently, also curious as to their friend's sudden obsession with his work.
"Eren I told you this is a special assignment from Principal Smith." he explained hiding the document on the screen by pulling up a rather innocent looking paper on war strategies (though admittedly he had read this particular one cover to cover twice already). "I have to make sure everything is perfect and well researched."
"Yea, yea." the black-haired boy huffed angrily, "You walking home with us this time or not?"
Armin smiled, able to see past his childhood friend's false attempt at uncaringness. "Sure, let me just print this last thing." he reopened the document and sent it to print, clearing it away before anyone could catch a glimpse of what he was reading, not that he felt Eren would care anyway, especially now that he was grinning from ear to ear.
The aspiring researcher gathered all his papers, careful not to miss a single bit because even the slightest sentence being released into the public could lead to dire consequences. Slipping them neatly into a folder and then securely into his backpack (him being pretty much the only student to bring a book bag during the school's athletic festival) before hoisting the pack up on his shoulder and following his friends out, vaguely taking in the boy's recount of his sister's race and inevitable victory over Annie, his mind still pining over his most recent breakthrough. In all honesty, he couldn't wait to get home where he could focus all his energy into this.
The trio walked out into the courtyard where a certain quartet was just about to turn heels and head for the gate.
Connie was visibly fuming about something. Sasha was trying to defuse him. Ymir was clearly playing devil's advocate. And… Christa…
Historia. Armin mentally corrected himself.
Armin swallowed a ball in his throat. He didn't hear what his friends said when they called out to the group nor did he hear much conversation between them. His mind just focused on decrypting 'Christa'. The information was unquestionable. His discoveries (while difficult to swallow) undoubtedly accurate. There was just one anomaly. This girl. Christa. She makes all the research he had just completed seem like some elaborate fabrication. He didn't want to believe it was true.
He watched every smile, analyzed every laugh, examined and scrutinized every expression and every breath. It all seemed unreal.
Suddenly, the sound of his own name brought him out of his observation.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Armin apologized gingerly.
Eren rolled his eyes. "What do ya think about taking a little detour to town for a bit with Connie those."
Armin quickly shook his head. "No sorry I can't. I have a lot I wanted to get done this evening. Maybe another time though."
"C'mon man, you've been way out of it all day. Ever since Principal Smith gave you this stupid 'special assignment' you don't have time for anything anymore." Eren reprimanded his friend, slight hurt evident in his voice.
"You should take a break sometimes." Mikasa chimed in quietly, lacking the emotion Eren carried.
"Special assignment?" Christa asked curiously. "Is that something that normally happens here?" she asked with what seemed to be genuine curiosity but Armin sensed a little more in her voice. Maybe it was simply paranoia.
"While it's not something you'd have to expect, it's also really nothing out of the ordinary." Armin chuckled nervously. How would she react if she knew I was intruding?
"What's it about?" Christa's mind went back to that moment Armin handed her the folder in the hall containing Ymir's evaluation form. She recalled his slight paranoia, his underlying discomfort. It was the type of thing she had become adept at identifying, especially when it was a darkness that always seemed to gloom within her.
He knows something.
She tried not to wear the realization on her face, and with the years of training she had in acting, she had a far easier time in masking her knowledge than the would-be researcher who, to her, seemed to bare his thoughts under an extremely thin veil of aloofness. He'll have to work on that. She noted to herself.
"He's keeping it a secret so you shouldn't even bother asking. I've been trying to get it out of him from day one of this shit." Eren broke the two from their own minds.
"I don't blame 'im, wish I had an excuse to get outta this too." Ymir groaned, earning a jab from the blonde standing next to her. She simply huffed, reminded why she couldn't get out of this no matter how hard she tried.
"Aw come on, it's just a little window shopping and a lot of good eats." Sasha attempted to sway Armin and keep Ymir on their side.
Armin chuckled but waved them off with a negative. "Really wish I could."
Mikasa rested a hand on his shoulder and gave what seemed to be a reassuring glare. "It's fine, we understand." Eren grumbled to himself but made no further efforts to change the boy's mind.
Armin waved his friends off as he broke off from the group, heading through the alley that led to his home. He sighed as he fiddled for his keys in front of the door in the small apartment building. With a tumble of the lock, Armin pushed the door open to the dark room and entered, kicking off his shoes and leaving them at the door.
"Grampa?" he called as he pulled the door close behind him, ensuring to lock the door as he met it.
He received no response but thought nothing of it. The old man got out quite often, normally spending his lonely days in a coffee shop or out hunting. Armin searched for the note his grandfather most likely left to explain his whereabouts. Walking into the bedroom the two shared, he located the small strip of paper hanging to the mirror. He dropped his bag and proceeded to find out what was written. So the coffee shop it is. The boy genius sighed, heading into the kitchen area, deciding that the offer for food earlier tempted him more than it should have and that he should definitely fix a quick meal before he could concentrate on compiling all his findings.
A rumble from near the door frayed his nerves.
Armin, without thinking, went straight toward the kitchen drawer, silently cursing himself for leaving the bedroom where his grandad kept a small pistol in his pants drawer. He rummaged for a knife when he heard another tumble, this time sounding like shifting furniture.
"Grandad is that you!?" He called out to the person, knowing full well that it wasn't. Normally the gentleman offered a hearty greeting call the moment he stepped through the door. Not to mention he normally stayed at the cafe until it closed.
"Who is it!? I know you're there!" he made one more attempt at calling out to the intruder.
Thud. "Sorry for startling you. You must be Armin Arlet, yes!?" the unfamiliar voice finally responded.
"Who's asking?" Armin calmed slightly now that the stranger was complying with him. "And how did you get in here, I'm sure I locked the door after I came in."
"That's not important." the person retorted in slight bemusement. It wasn't amusing to Armin though. He could hear the voice gradually get louder and the person's footstep, or rather persons' as he was now identifying a second set of steps, now moving toward him.
He clutched the grip of the knife he managed to find and pulled it close. Slowly the man came into view.
"Woah, calm down kid! Let's not get crazy!" the old man laughed. "Allow, me to introduce myself, I am Dr. Schtein and my associate here rudely pointing the gun at you is Mr. Kenny Ackerman." Surely enough, the slanky man appeared from the other end of the arch and weapon-barrel staring down his target.
Armin swallowed but placed the knife to the side, putting his hand up slightly.
"Kenny, don't be so rude, he's just a child after all, show some manners." Schtein reprimanded. Kenny grumbled, but followed instruction, lowering his weapon. "We're not violent, see. We only came to ask a few questions."
Armin could feeling the sweat starting to pool up at his brows. It didn't matter what these people had to say, or what there intentions were, the boy had already decided he wasn't going to give them what they want. They're clearly not to be trusted. He glowered at them.
"Relax kid. We're not here to hurt ya." Kenny rasped, his voice heavy from smoke. "We will if we have to though so don't get any ideas."
Schtein cleared his throat. "We just would like to talk to you about some information you may or may not have gathered recently. We're looking for a young girl by the name of Historia Reiss, have you heard of her?"