Hi all, Holly here! For a longer fic Pandora asked for Armin employing Jean to help him get a puppy against all odds. Hope you enjoy what I came up with! :)
The final bell rings at the end of the day signalling departure and, while the rest of the class begins to file out, Jean still sits at his desk frantically taking down the notes left on the board. History is easily his weakest subject and it's only gotten worse since transferring to a new school so he doesn't want to fall even further behind than he already is. As the others slowly leave he finishes copying the notes, realising that even Mr Smith has left the room as well. Enjoying the new found quiet he takes his time to pack his books away until a shadow falls over his desk. Looking up he's very surprised to see the class brain-box, Armin Arlet, standing in front of his desk with an expectant look on his face. If he thought anyone was going to wait around for him he would have thought it would be Marco or maybe Connie and Sasha trying to get him to come out with them for some ridiculous scheme. Both he and Armin stare at each other for a long moment before Jean becomes uncomfortable and breaks the silence.
"Um... hi..."
"Hi," Armin says, smiling brightly.
"You want something?" Jean asks when it becomes apparent that Armin is going to continue staring at him.
"Yes actually," Armin replies. "I'm hoping that you can help me with something."
Jean eyes him suspiciously. "You need help from me?" he asks. "I thought you were top of the class."
"I am," Armin replies. "This isn't to do with school stuff... well not really."
"O...kay..."
"I think you're the best person to help me with this."
Still confused Jean continues to survey Armin, folding his arms over his chest. "And why is that?" he asks. "This is the first time that you and I have ever spoken."
"I am aware of that yes," Armin says, his cheeks flushing slightly, "but I'm still hoping that you might help me."
Raising an eyebrow at him Jean decides that he's not going to let Armin off that easily by agreeing to whatever it is he wants so freely. "So what exactly does the class brain need my help with if it's not school related?"
"I need to beat Reiner in the cross country race at the end of the month so my step-dad will let me have a puppy," Armin says, his words tumbling out in a jumbled mess.
Jean blinks at him. "Come again?"
"I need to beat Reiner in the cross country race we have at the end of the month so my step-dad will let me get a puppy," Armin says again, this time a little slower so that Jean can understand him.
Unable to stop himself Jean snorts with laughter. "You are going to try and beat Reiner?" he asks derisively. "I've seen you in PE, you'll be lucky if you even beat Eren and he needs a map to find the starting line."
"While I can't disagree with you on that front I'd like to think I have a little bit more of a chance," Armin says defensively.
"You don't."
"This is why I need your help!"
Since starting at the school about a month ago Jean has made quite a few friends but Armin was never one of them. He appears to spend most of his time alone and when Jean first saw him he thought he was kind of cute but after seeing him get pushed into a locker three days in a row that downgraded to thinking that he's a bit pathetic. Of course he feels sorry for Armin – getting bullied sucks and not having any friends at all must be really lonely – but he's not about to put himself in Reiner's firing line for someone he barely knows and is kind of insufferable in class.
"And what's in it for me?" Jean asks finally.
"I'll help you with history as you clearly need it."
"Rude."
Armin groans, clearly despairing. "That wasn't meant to be," he says trying to explain himself. "I just figured you needed it because you're always the last one copying notes down at the end of the lesson."
"Oh..."
"Look I really need your help with this, I'll tutor you in any subject you want, just please help me," Armin begs.
Man he must really be desperate if he's begging me... what's the harm in it, I guess... if it brings my grades up that can only be a good thing... it's not like it's going to take up a lot of my time and energy...
"Okay fine," Jean sighs shaking his head. "I'll help you out."
Armin's entire face lights up. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he cries. "You won't regret it I promise."
"I said I'd help you but don't be too disappointed if it doesn't work out how you plan, okay?" Getting to his feet Jean hitches his backpack onto his shoulder.
"Everything is going to be great," Armin tells him, still beaming, although Jean highly doubts that.
Mornings aren't usually Armin's favourite time of the day, particularly the mornings where his step-dad and step-brother are around together doing everything in their power to make the start of his day miserable. Since he and his mother moved in with Robert and Reiner Armin hates spending time at home because it means having every little thing he says and does be under scrutiny all the time. When he goes down to the kitchen he hopes for a bit of time alone with his mum but his heart sinks as he sees both Robert and Reiner sitting at the table with her. Reiner sneers at him but Armin ignores him and goes to sit down next to his mum.
"Look who finally decided to show his face," Robert chuckles as Armin begins buttering himself some toast.
"I'm not late," he says.
"Reiner's been up since half past five working out," Robert says, grinning at his son. "You were probably up late reading books again."
"I was studying for a test," Armin replies, rising to the bait against his better judgement.
Robert lets out a bark of laughter. "Where's studying going to get you when you can't even lift all those books you're always reading?"
"Whatever," Armin mumbles, unlocking his phone and opening Facebook. If he's scrolling then he doesn't have to have a conversation and Robert and Reiner can insult him well enough without him having to participate.
Thankfully the two of them quickly move on to their other favourite topic – Reiner's sporting achievements – leaving Armin to himself. He's not sure why he still goes on Facebook, it's not as if anyone talks to him on there anymore (save Marco) but it's an easy distraction. As he scrolls he finds an advert from someone selling puppies locally. The picture that accompanies it is of an incredibly fluffy keeshond with a litter of eight newborn puppies. Originally posted by the woman who works at the corner shop she's offering the puppies for sale when they're old enough to leave their mother and, looking at the mother's face, Armin can't resist.
"Hey mum..." he begins, his eyes still on his phone screen.
"Yes sweetheart," Heidi says.
Showing her the phone Armin can't stop himself from grinning. "Look at these."
"They're so sweet," Heidi says, smiling herself.
"Can I get one?"
Heidi's smile falters. "A puppy?" she asks. "Sweetheart I don't know, a puppy is a big responsibility."
"I know," Armin says hurriedly. "I'll look after it, I promise, you won't even know it's here." He'd love to have a friend at home and, years ago, his dad had talked about getting a family dog for the three of them so it would be like that promise would finally be fulfilled.
"Won't even know what's here?" Robert asks, butting in.
Armin's heart sinks. There's no way that Robert is going to agree to letting him get a dog (god forbid Armin have something in his life that makes him happy).
"Armin's found someone selling puppies," Heidi says.
"You want a dog?" Robert asks incredulously.
"Yeah," Armin says.
Reiner laughs. "Is that so you can have something that's just as tiny and pathetic as you around?" he sneers.
"What do you want a dog for?" Robert asks.
Heat creeps up the back of Armin's neck. "Dad talked about getting one before..."
Sadness clouds Heidi's eyes for a moment and she puts a hand on Robert's arm. "Why not let him get one?" she asks. "What's the harm in it, really?"
"Because I'll end up having to look after it," Robert says.
"You won't, honestly," Armin says hurriedly. "I'll do everything for it, like I said you won't even know it's here."
"It would be a good lesson in responsibility," Heidi adds, "and it's good exercise as well."
Robert lets out a harsh bark of laughter. "Exercise? The daffodil?"
"Don't call him that," Heidi begs, distressed.
"Tell you what," Robert smirks, not taking his eyes off Armin, "if you can beat Reiner in that cross country run your school has at the end of the month, then you can get your dog."
"Robert that seems a little unfair," Heidi says, looking between Armin and Reiner, taking in the difference in size.
"No, if he wants it enough he can do it," Robert says. "Isn't that right, daffodil?"
As Robert and Reiner begin to laugh at him Armin's jaw clenches. Downing the juice he poured for himself he gets to his feet, grabbing his bag. "Alright you're on," he says, determination in his eyes. "I'll win that cross country run, just you wait and see!" With that he storms out of the house and off to school, not daring to look back to see if there is any fallout.
"So how are you going to beat Reiner and win this bet when you get out of breath running to catch the bus?" Marco asks at lunch once Armin has finished telling him about the events of the morning.
"Not a fucking clue."
"Righto."
Groaning Armin rubs his hands over his face. "I've been thinking about this all morning, trying to work it out and I still don't have an answer."
"Guess you're going to have to get training," Marco says, shrugging.
"Obviously," Armin replies, "but I mean, look at me, I don't know the first thing about cross country running! If I'm going to stand a chance of actually doing this then I'm going to need someone to help me."
"Hey, you could put laxatives in Reiner's protein drink the morning of the race," Marco offers.
Armin shakes his head. "I want this to be a fair match. I want to beat him because I'm better than him, not because I decided to cheat."
The look Marco gives him is nothing short of pitying. "No offence Armin but unless you get a power up like Gandalf in The Two Towers or Super Sailor Moon I don't see how this is going to be in any way fair."
"Never heard Gandalf and Sailor Moon be used in the same analogy before," Armin mutters. Marco is such a nerd sometimes...
"What about getting Eren to hamstring him?"
"Eren would do that for free but I don't want to involve him," Armin says. "He's getting worse the more time he spends with Zeke."
Marco shudders. "Zeke and his creepy girlfriend offered me drugs when I was walking home through the park the other night."
"Yeah so the less I have to do with them right now the better," Armin says. "My mum doesn't really like me spending time with Eren anymore because of all the stuff Zeke's been filling his head with so we don't really talk much anymore."
Thinking for a moment Marco suddenly clicks his fingers. "How about getting Creepy Mikasa to put a curse on him?"
Now it's Armin's turn to shudder. "No way, she's terrifying and she's always in the basement with Annie."
"So?"
"Last time I even looked at Annie in a way she didn't like she called me a freak and put her cigarette out on my neck."
"Oh..."
"Besides all these options are like the laxatives in the drink thing; it's not fair," Armin says. "What I need is a trainer to help me."
"Okay but your options for that are pretty limited there too," Marco points out. "Everyone who's good at PE is either friends with Reiner or they're scared of him."
"Yeah," Armin agrees. "So no one there is going to help me."
"I would help you but my doctor says I can't do the cross country race this month because my asthma is worse in the spring," Marco says.
Giving him a smile and a pat on the shoulder Armin can't help but feel grateful at the gesture. "You're helping me out now, that's more than anyone else would do."
Taking another moment to think Marco's face suddenly lights up. "I know, how about asking Jean?"
Armin wrinkles his nose. "The new guy?"
"Yeah, he'd be a great coach," Marco replies.
"You think?"
Marco nods, his grin widening. "Yeah, Jean's great," he says. "We used to play together all the time when we were kids, then his family moved away for a while but they came back a few months ago. He's really cool and he's pretty athletic so he'd be a good person to ask, not to mention he hasn't been here long enough to have that much to do with Reiner."
Armin mulls this over for a moment. So far he's had no interaction with Jean since he joined their class so he's not sure if he's a good guy or not. Having said that Jean hasn't pushed him into any lockers or thrown a drink over him so far and if Marco says that he's a good guy then maybe he'll agree. Also, if nothing else, he knows that Jean isn't that good at history so he can offer a trade of tutoring if he won't agree outright.
"Okay," he says finally. "I'll ask him.
A surprising whoop of delight escapes Marco's mouth. "Yes! He won't let you down, I promise."
During the rest of the day Armin rehearses conversations with Jean in his head, working out what he's going to say. It really is a testament to his low self esteem that all of these scenarios end with him being thrown in a bin or punched in the face. Finally they come to the last class of the day, which is history so luckily for Armin, Jean will be the last person to leave. Just as he predicted Jean is still there making notes after everyone else has gone so Armin waits until the classroom is completely empty before slipping back in and going to stand before Jean's desk.
After what seems like a lifetime Jean finally looks up and sees Armin standing there. They stare at each other for a few moments before Jean speaks. "Um... hi..."
"Hi," Armin says. Now that he's actually face to face with Jean words fail him and he's not sure how to start this, despite the amount of times he rehearsed it in his head.
"You want something?" Jean asks.
"Yes actually," Armin replies, snapping out of his nervous stupor. "I'm hoping that you can help me with something."
"You need help from me?" Jean snorts. "I thought you were top of the class."
Armin feels heat creeping up the back of his neck. "I am. This isn't to do with school work... well not really."
"O... kay."
While this conversation isn't going exactly how Armin had expected it to Jean is still talking to him so that's better than nothing. "I think you're the best person to help me with this."
Jean folds his arms across his chest. "And why is that? This is the first time you and I have ever spoken."
Armin feels the bottom drop out of his stomach. This is where he's going to really have to try his hardest to convince Jean to put himself out for this "I am aware of that but I'm still hoping you might help with this."
"So what exactly does the class brain need my help with if it's not school related?" Jean asks.
Taking a deep breath Armin lets his words come tumbling out in a garbled rush. "I need to beat Reiner in the cross country race we have at the end of the month so my step-dad will let me get a puppy."
"Come again?" Jean asks, blinking in confusion so Armin repeats himself a little slower, trying to be as clear as possible and not to let his nerves get the better of him. When he's finished Jean snorts with laughter. "You are going to try and beat Reiner?" he asks derisively. "I've seen you in PE, you'll be lucky if you even beat Eren and he needs a map to find the starting line."
Confidence knocked slightly Armin regroups. "While I can't disagree with you on that front I'd like to think I have a little bit more of a chance."
"You don't," Jean tells him.
"This is why I need your help!"
Jean stares at him for a long time and Armin just about manages to hold his ground (despite the mounting terror that he might be thrown in a bin) before Jean finally speaks. "And what's in it for me?"
Having his ace all ready Armin grins. "I'll help you with history as you clearly need it."
"Rude."
Armin groans at his own inability to talk to people and tries to salvage the situation. "That wasn't meant to be. I just figured you needed it because you're always the last one copying notes down at the end of the lesson."
"Oh..."
Feeling as if his chance is slipping away from him Armin begins to panic. "Look I really need your help with this," he cries, dread rising in his voice. "I'll tutor you in any subject you want just please help me!"
Once again Jean doesn't say anything for a long time, so long in fact that Armin begins to wonder if he's about to get punched after all before he finally sighs, shaking his head. "Okay fine, I'll help you out."
Heart in his throat Armin has to stop himself from throwing his arms around Jean's neck and hugging him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he cries almost vibrating with excitement. "You won't regret it, I promise."
"I said I'd help you," Jean cuts in getting up from his seat, "but don't be too disappointed if it doesn't work out how you plan, okay?"
"Everything is going to be great," Armin tells him, unable to keep the smile off his face. Convincing Jean to help was the hard part, now all he has to do is train like crazy and that puppy is as good as his. It's been a long time since he's had something like this to focus his attention on and not only will this end with him getting a puppy but will also get him out of the house enough to not have to spend any time with Robert or Reiner. If he's lucky though, if he's really lucky he thinks as he smiles at Jean, he might even be able to make another friend while doing this.