Author's Notes: I'm so sorry that it took so long for me to get back into this! I took a little break but by the time I started writing again, I forgot most details about this fic, so I read through it again. But, I'm here now!
Armin sat quietly. They were going to the doctor so Papa could make sure they weren't really sick, which was a little confusing.
He knew Aunt Hanji had looked over them a lot when they first came home and even if he had to use his crutch, Armin was already feeling a lot better than he did. He didn't feel like he was sick. Maybe these doctors were different, though. Maybe they were the teeth kind. Or the ones that put eyedrops in his eyes. Armin frowned at the window from the last thought. He didn't really like those eyedrops.
There was a tap at Armin's shoulder and he turned his head to meet Eren's gaze. His step-brother fidgeted for a moment before leaning closer to whisper, "do you think they're going to give us any shots?"
Oh, Armin hadn't really thought about that one. Then again, he wasn't afraid of shots anymore. Daddy made sure he got lost of them after Mom died and he usually had to get the flu shot every year anyway. But it was different for Eren. He hated them.
"Maybe." Armin spoke carefully, his tongue still sore despite the efforts they took to make it better. "But...it's gonna be okay. If you're sca-ared, I can ho-old your hand." Armin winced at the spike of pain it sent through his jaw.
"No way! I was just asking to know! I'm not scared of shots!" Eren leaned away with a deep frown, his arms crossing over. He looked kinda like Papa when he got mad, but Eren wasn't nearly as scary.
Mikasa looked at the two of them for a moment before looked away again. Armin wasn't sure if she was scared too, or just annoyed that Eren was talking too loud again. He hoped it was just because of Eren. If Mikasa was scared, then Armin wasn't sure he'd be able to keep calm as well. Now, he really hoped it was just some shots.
The car stopped after a minute or two and Papa got out of the car. Armin's eyes tracked his every movement as his anxiety built up, but it lowered again when the car door opened. "This shouldn't take too long, alright? Just a quick check up." Armin wasn't sure who he was talking to specifically, but he did see Eren relax. "Let's get moving."
Mikasa climbed out first, then Eren, and Armin. He was getting faster at tucking the crutch under his arm and not falling behind everyone else. It filled him with a sense of pride, knowing he wasn't keeping everyone behind anymore. Papa could walk normally, now.
As they went through the glass doors, Papa stopped again and pulled something out of his pocket. Armin recognized it immediately, but frown at what it meant for him. "We're going to wear masks while we sit in the waiting room, okay? I don't want any of you getting sick." With gentle fingers, Papa slipped the blue mask over Mikasa's face and tucked the strings behind her ears. The did the same with Eren, though, the boy did mess with it after. Armin waited patiently for his own to be put on, his ears already feeling sensitive after the string was put in place. He never really liked wearing masks. It made his breathing feel weird.
Papa put his own on as he stood up, then opened the door. As they walked inside, Armin saw other people sitting in the big chairs set up around the room. There were some toys on the floor too, but there were already kids playing with them. Could they join? But Armin didn't really want them to see his fingers and make fun of him. Then again, no one did yesterday. But those were also their friends.
"Wipe off your hands after touching anything, okay? And don't remove your mask." Papa's eyes went to Eren, who immediately stopped playing with his mask. "I'll sit down in a moment, okay? If anything happens, tell me." With that, Papa went up to the front desk.
Eren went for the toys first, not seeming to mind the other kids at all. They didn't mind him either, as they gave him enough room to push some large beads along the wire. Armin stayed with Mikasa as they sat on the floor a little ways away from the others. There were some books around, both for kids and the adult kinds. Papa always said never to look at the...magazines -that was the right word for it, right?- because they could sometimes have bad stuff in them. So, Armin picked up a book with a leaf on the front and showed it to Mikasa, who was watching Eren closely.
"Want to read this together?" He watched her look over the book for a moment, hoping she'd say yes. To his disappointment, she shook her head.
"I want to play with Eren."
Oh. Armin looked back down at the book for a moment before joining Mikasa's gaze to Eren. He was talking to the others now. They seemed friendly, but Armin still wasn't sure. He didn't really want to talk to new people right now. "That's okay. I can read this on my own."
Mikasa nodded before moving over to sit by Eren, her eyes wide as she watched him play with the little switches and knobs on another toy. Armin looked away after a moment or two, his attention now back to his book. Maybe, when they went home, he could ask Dad to read with him. They had so many cool books and he could still remember a little bit from the last time they read. They were always more interesting than the simple books at school.
Or, maybe he could read some with Annie. Mr. Leonhart said she liked reading a little. Maybe she would like the same books he liked. He hoped so. He wanted to talk to others about the things he learned. Daddy and Papa always listened, but it was different. They always listened to him because they were his parents. But if he had a friend, then he could talk to them instead.
"What do you have, there?"
Armin jumped at the voice and looked up to see girl sitting next to him. He didn't recognize her at all, but she was still smiling at him. She looked really tired for some reason and her hair was a little messy. It took a moment for him to see the pair of crutched by her, as well as the cast wrapped around her foot.
"Is that a book about seasons?" She gestured and Armin looked back at the book. It was about seasons, but more specifically, fall.
"Um...yeah." He wasn't sure if he was supposed to talk to her or not. Eren and Mikasa were playing with kids they didn't know very well, but something about this girl felt different. The way she talked was kinda familiar.
"I'm Pieck." She smiled again. "My dad brought me here to get my cast off." She shoed off her wrapped foot again. It was blue and had a few names written on it. Probably some friends of hers. "I broke it a while ago while trying to play with my cat, Bastet. I fell down the stairs."
Armin didn't reply, still unsure about her. She did seem friendly, and looked about his age too. If she was his age, then she was safe, right? 5 year-olds weren't dangerous.
Pieck continued. "Did you know Bastet is an Egyptian goddess? That's why they used to worship cats so much. She's Ra's daughter and was known to bring good health. That's why I like her so much, because she helps people feel healthy. Do you like mythology too?"
He...didn't know how to reply. "I kno-ow Bastet." He winced again, but pressed on. "I read about her."
The girl's face seemed to glow after that. "That's so cool! My dad got me a lot of book because I like mythology a lot. Mostly Egyptian stuff, though. The Romans were mean, so I don't like learning about them. But the Greeks were better. Did you know that they were the first to have a democratic government?"
Armin's eyes went wide. "What does that mean?" He barely cared about his tongue hurting as he scooted closer to Pieck, eager to learn more. She sounded really smart. There was no way she was his age! She had to be, like, six! Or maybe even seven! Marco was seven and he knew a lot of stuff too.
"Democratic government? It means that the government lets people vote for what they want instead of their ruler choosing for them. Egypt and Rome weren't like that, though. They had monarchies. Did you know that the Egyptians thought the pharaoh was actually a God?"
She liked to talk a lot, it seemed, but Armin didn't mind. Not at all. As he tucked the book away, he began listening to every little fact Pieck knew about Egypt and the Roman Empire and even more governments. It was all so new and he just had to tell Daddy about this once he got home!
...
After a while, a doctor came into the waiting room and called out Papa's name. Armin's head turned away from Pieck despite how interesting their conversation was. Papa was starting to stand up from where he was sitting.
Armin looked back to Pieck, who was still talking. "And after that, Seth killed his brother. He chopped Osiris into lots of tiny pieces and spread them across the land so no one could find him."
"Um..." Armin's voice was soft, not really wanting to interrupt, but he had to go. Papa was waiting.
"But luckily, Isis found those pieces and sewed him back together."
"Pieck?"
"Then, Osiris gained immortality. They hid from Seth, since he was still trying to kill his brother for having a baby with his wife-"
"Who's this?" Armin looked up and met Papa's eyes. He didn't look mad, but he was giving Pieck a strange look. Was she not safe after all? But she hadn't hurt him this whole time, so she must be. Maybe Papa was just upset she was talking so much.
Pieck stopped and looked up at Papa with another smile. "My name's Pieck Finger. My dad brought me to the doctor so they could get my cast off. I broke it while-"
"I'm sorry, but I have to take Armin to get his own check up." Papa interrupted, but Pieck didn't seem upset by it.
Armin begin getting up, tucking his crutch under his arm, but he paused for a moment to wave at Pieck. "Thanks for talking to me, Pieck. It was really fun." She waved back and finally, Armin felt confident enough to leave. As he walked with Papa, Eren and Mikasa, he watched Pieck go to one of the adults -probably her dad- and she began talking again.
They walked down a long hall, following someone dressed in white. Armin looked at each of the paintings hung up on the walls. They were really colorful and looked kinda silly sometimes, but Armin liked them.
"Right in here, please." The doctor pointed to a room and they all went inside.
Papa sat down in one of the chairs and Eren took the only other one. Armin stood for a moment, not sure where to sit now, but then Papa urged Eren out of the seat. "Let Armin sit there, okay? You'll be going first anyway."
"What?!" Eren's eyes went wide. He didn't leave the chair either. "But I don't wanna go first! Why can't Mikasa go?!"
Papa let out a sigh, but he didn't move to grab Eren. "Because the bravest one has to go first, right? That way, Armin and Mikasa won't be scared."
At that, Mikasa stood up. "I can go first, so Eren isn't scared."
Eren frowned at this. "What?! No way! I'm not scared!"
"Them go first."
"Fine!" With that, Eren climbed up onto the big bed-looking thing and sat on the paper. He stuck his tongue out at Mikasa, but the girl didn't really respond to him. With Eren now out of the seat, Armin walked over to it and sat down, leaning his crutch against the wall. Mikasa then at on Papa's lap.
The door closed and the doctor came in, a smile on his face. "Mr. Smith-"
"Levi's fine." Papa interrupted again.
"Levi. I recognize you from the warehouse. It's good to see that you're children are getting medical attention."
Armin wasn't really sure what that meant. How did Papa already know their doctor? Maybe it was a parent thing. Papa usually knew people Armin didn't, like the three people they saw yesterday.
The doctor looked at them again, his smile wider now. "I'm Dr. Hannes and I'll be checking over you three, okay? Now, who do I have here?" He stood by Eren, but not too close. Armin felt his heart beat faster with how close an almost stranger was to his brother, but he reminded himself that Papa was there too. Papa wouldn't let anything bad happen.
Besides, Papa already knew Dr. Hannes. He was safe.
"I'm Eren." The boy's voice was softer now, making him sound nervous. After the initial introduction, his eyes went to Papa.
"I guess I'll get right to business, then. Eren has a few bruises, but they've gone down since he returned. What I'm mostly concerned about is their malnourishment."
Dr. Hannes hummed as he went back to the long counter and picked up a few things. None of them looked like needles, so Armin relaxed. "I guess that's to be expected. Tell me about their diet." As he spoke, Dr. Hannes went back to Eren but stopped. "This little band goes around your arm so I can test your blood pressure. It's gonna squeeze a little, but it shouldn't hurt, okay?"
As Papa started talking about the soup they got and whatever Aunt Hanji did for them, Armin watched Dr. Hannes put the band around Eren's arm. He looked at the long tube connected to it and squeezed something in his hand. The band puffed up a lot, kind of like a balloon. Eren looked at it, but he didn't say it hurt. Then, once the band was gone, he opened his hand toward the boy.
"This will go right over your finger -yup! Just like that." Dr. Hannes smiled again as the clamp went over Eren's finger. Again, the boy didn't protest. "It will tell me how much oxygen is in your blood."
"Will it poke me?"
"Nope. You won't feel a thing, promise."
Papa began talking again, but the words were bigger and Armin didn't want to ask what they all meant. He could just ask later, if he remembered any.
After a moment, Dr. Hannes took Eren back into the hall to weigh him, but they came right back and Papa stayed with them the whole time. After Eren was done, Mikasa went next. She sat up on the table silently and looking a lot less scared.
"She has celiac disease, so we might need a blood test." Papa spoke up just as Dr. Hannes finished using the finger clamp.
"Will she get a shot, Papa?" Eren twisted where he was now sitting on Papa's lap. "She was really sick when we were in the room, so does she need a shot for that?"
Both Papa and the doctor paused. "Sick? How?" There was a frown on both of their faces. Armin didn't like it very much.
Eren continued, though. "They gave us bread but Mikasa got sick when she ate it. Armin got us potatoes, but that wasn't until later. She kept throwing up all the time."
Mikasa nodded in agreement and Papa's frown deepened. "It really hurt." She spoke quietly, her hands going back to her stomach as if it hurt right now. Armin hoped it didn't.
"That's definitely something we should get a blood test for." Dr. Hannes still wasn't smiling and it make his face look kinda wrinkled. "Give me a second while I get what I need for that. I probably won't be able to get result until much later, though."
As the doctor left, Papa looked back at them. "Mikasa, can you tell me more about what they fed you?"
She went quiet for a moment, but eventually, she nodded. "They gave us a cup of water and bread, but the cup always tipped over and got the bread soggy. And when I ate it, I felt sick."
"Did anyone else get sick?"
Mikasa shook her head. "No. Just me."
Armin sat forward, wanting to add his own view of what happened. "She got sick because of the gl-gluten, Papa. I felt sick too..." His tongue was starting to hurt more, now. "but I was just-t hungry."
"Me too!" Despite his volume, Eren didn't sound happy anymore. He hugged his own stomach, like Mikasa. "It hurt a lot. But then Armin got us food, so it didn't hurt as much."
"How-" Papa started, but Dr. Hannes walked back in with several little bags. He opened a few of them before setting them down beside Mikasa. She didn't look scared, though. She probably didn't care about shots anymore, like Armin.
Dr. Hannes ties a blue band around Mikasa's arm, just above her elbow, and then wiped her inner arm with something. "You've had blood tests before, right Mikasa?" His smile was back and he spoke gently to her. When she nodded, he nodded as well. "Good. Then you know it won't hurt too much. Just a little pinch and it's over, right?"
As Dr. Hannes pushed the needle into her arm, Eren looked away. Armin didn't look either, but that was just because he wanted to see if Eren was upset or not. His eyes were squeezed shut, but he wasn't crying, so maybe he was okay.
"There." Dr. Hannes signaled the end of that and discarded the needle. "Give me a moment." From there, Dr. Hannes walked out again with the blood packet.
Papa looked at them again, but he didn't say anything. For a long time, the room was just silent. Armin wasn't sure why, but Papa looked really upset too. Was it because they let Mikasa eat the bread? They didn't have much of a choice, though. She would've starved for a long time if they didn't share it. But they also could've gotten those potatoes sooner. Armin lowered his head as the shame of not helping sooner washed over him. He should've done more. Why did he let Mikasa stay sick for so long?
It stayed quiet when Dr. Hannes came back and Mikasa jumped down from the bed-looking thing. With help, Armin made his way up and looked nervously around the office. Would they do something different for him, since he was weaker than his siblings? Would he need a wheel chair?
"Armin was the most malnourished from what I've heard, but he's been recovering very well. We didn't change his diet from the others to keep it simple, but he still has a difficult time walking without support. Oh, and his tongue and fingers were cut. Is there anything you can do for that?"
"Tongue and fingers, huh?" Dr. Hannes' lips turned down in a frown, but they went back up when he looked at Armin. From this distance, Armin could now see all of the little wrinkles in the man's skin, as well as his golden eyes. He looked kind, like Dr. Berner. "Could I see your hand?"
Wordlessly, Armin lifted his hurt hand and let the doctor look at his fingers. They were still scabbed over, but not so badly anymore. They didn't hurt as much either.
"Hm. That's pretty nasty. Do you know how this happened?"
Despite Dr. Hannes looking at Papa, Armin nodded. "It...It was a blender."
Papa's eyes wend wide, and then small as he frowned. Armin shrank in his seat at the look. Why was Papa mad? Did he not like that Armin spoke for him? But he didn't think Papa knew about it.
Dr. Hannes' face was similar, but he hide his frown quickly. "A blender? That sounds...I'm sorry they hurt you. But you're safe now. Your parents are going to make sure nothing like that happens again, okay?"
Not really knowing why, Armin began to shake. He felt tears press at his eyes, but he nodded. He remembered just how scary it was, having someone super strong grab his arm like that and slowly push it closer to-
"Armin," He didn't need to see who it was when arms reached out for him. He leaned into Papa's chest and let the tears out. Dr. Hannes didn't stop them, though. "You're okay, Armin. You're safe."
He couldn't stop crying, even when he didn't feel scared anymore. He knew those bad people weren't here and they wouldn't cut him again. He knew Papa was going to protect him, but that didn't stop the shaking. He could almost feel it, the way his fingers suddenly hurt a lot. The sound of it because all he could hear and-
Strong arms lifted him up and Armin curled into Papa's chest. Every sob hurt his tongue, but he couldn't stop them. Papa said something, but Armin didn't listen too closely. He was more worried about the noises in his head and the image of his own horror. He wanted it to stop right now, but it just wouldn't. His fingers hurt and his tongue hurt and he was remembering that too, the knife that bad lady held into his mouth.
They were moving now and for a long time, Armin didn't look up. He kept his eyes closed and tried breathing through the memories. Sounds were drown out and the only indication that something was different was when those arms threatened to leave him.
"NO!" He shouted and the taste of blood rushed onto his tongue. He grabbed at whatever he could, but it only made his fingers hurt more.
"I'm here, Armin. We're in the car, but I'm not leaving you, okay?"
After what felt like forever, Armin opened his eyes and found that Papa was right. They were in the car. Eren and Mikasa were both giving him sad looks, but they were seat-belted in place. Papa was sitting on the last seat with Armin in his lap.
With the reminder of where he was, Armin felt the noise come back too. He could hear other cars driving by on the road, as well as some people talking somewhere else. He wasn't in that place anymore. He was with Papa and nothing could hurt Papa. Nothing.
"I..." His words were interrupted with a hiccupped breath. At least he wasn't sobbing anymore. "I'm okay."
"You're okay?" Papa asked. "Can I let you go, or do you still need me here? It's okay if you do."
After a moment, Armin shook his head. "I wanna go home." And if he had to let Papa drive, then that was okay. Papa's car was safe too and he had Eren and Mikasa. He was safe.
"Okay." Papa nodded as he carefully let go. Armin settled back into his seat and let Papa put on his seatbelt as the boy wiped at his face. He had tears all along his cheeks and a little bit of snot in his nose, but that was okay. There were probably napkins at home.
Once settled, Papa closed the side door and quickly made his way into the front seat. He put his own seatbelt on and looked back at them for a moment before starting the car. The drive was silent as they headed back home, but it wasn't as tense as before.
Through the whole ride, Armin felt that sinking feeling that he caused trouble again. He shouldn't have started crying like that. He always cried over silly things and Eren told him it was annoying once. Armin didn't want to be annoying.
The feeling didn't lighten too much as they got home. And as Armin tucked himself into bed for a nap, he forgot all about the cool new facts he wanted to tell Daddy.
Author's Notes: I think you guys deserve a longer chapter for the wait. Seriously, it was a long time! I feel so bad! On a side note, I did enjoy reading over all of this, though. Lots of typos, but I'm not sure if I should go back and edit this either. Maybe I'll see in the future. Just know that I will continue this story from here on out! It won't be left behind! Thank you all for waiting so patiently for basically six months!