I guess those of you that have stuck around have realized that this fic is a bit of a slow burner. It's not very suspenseful or filled with action. It's also one of my first fanfics that I decided to publish so I hope you forgive me for any errors and or poor writing. I hope you guys enjoy!
"How do you feel, Ina?" Armin takes the recently vacated seat next to her bed.
"No more hurting."
"That's good." Armin nods with a smile. "Hange and I were just talking about how to help your back heal. We have a few ideas but we're only going to do what you're comfortable with." He explains.
"Okay." Ina nods.
"The first thing is ice and heat." Armin starts. "This is meant to help the soreness. We'd give you a few ice packs for a bit and then switch them out for heating pads. How does that sound?"
"Fine."
Her mechanical answers prove to Armin that Ina is trying her best, but can only comprehend so much of what he is saying. She's been through quite a bit in these last few hours. She needs rest.
"We'll talk more when Hange comes back."
"Can I… Um. May… I…" Ina wants to try but is just so tongue tied and now she's embarrassed.
"Yes? Need something?" Armin leans forward.
"May I…" Her heartbeat quickens. Asking favors was not allowed. Asking led to terrible beatings. As much as she has come to trust him, Ina can't help but fear the worst whenever she opens her mouth. "I'm sorry." She feels like she can barely breathe. "Never mind. Never mind." Ina shakes her head.
"Ina, it's alright. You can speak your mind here. If you want to ask for something, go right ahead and ask. You don't have to fear punishment from us."
By now she knows Armin does not lie. He must be telling the truth. He has to be.
"Tea." Ina mumbles.
"What was that?" Armin isn't sure he heard her right and slowly leans in a bit closer.
"May… May I have… Some tea?" She sounds mortified while asking, but Armin can tell how much effort she's putting forth. He can tell she wants to believe that she's in a safe place.
He smiles at her. "Of course you can."
Hange said it'd be safe to move Ina since she was awake and alert. Armin is really tempted to keep in the IV and just bring it along, but eventually decides against it. She needs a break from the drugs. He relies on memory from his advanced emergency procedures class from the academy when removing the IV. Ina tries to remain strong and stay quiet, but he knows it hurts.
"Almost there." Armin talks her through it.
He patches her arm up and throws away any stray tubing and needles. When it comes to moving Ina, Armin is as slow and gentle as she needs him to be. It's strange. She's never been handled with such care before. It's a beautiful feeling. One she hopes she can get used to. He carries Ina on his back to the kitchen. Ina keeps her head buried in his shoulder to avoid the gazes of the other soldiers. When he feels her trembling, Armin whispers words of kind encouragement and reassurance.
"Do you want to wait here or come with me?" He asks the little girl once they reach the mess hall. Ina's only response is a tightening of her arms around his neck. "Hang on, Ina."
"Oh, Captain." Armin is surprised to see Levi in the kitchen, already brewing a pot of tea. He had no idea where Levi and Hange had disappeared to. Guess this was it.
"Brat." Levi barely acknowledges Armin.
"Uh, hey captain, do you mind making a little extra?"
Levi finds this request odd and finally turns to look at Arlert. He notices the girl on Arlert's back.
"I think we have another tea lover on base." Armin comments. Ina has yet to lift her head from his shoulder.
"Hey." Armin whispers to grab her attention. "Look who's going to make your tea. It's okay, you're safe here." He's able to coax Ina to uncurl just enough to slightly lift her head.
"Captain." Her voice is quiet.
"Just Levi." He turns the heat down on the kettle.
"Go sit down, brat. I'll bring it out."
"Yes, sir." Armin readjusts Ina and leaves the kitchen. He sits the little girl down before taking his own seat next to her. Although the mess hall is empty, Ina can't help but feel anxious. Armin turns to find her sitting with her trembling hands covering her eyes.
"What's the matter?" Armin leans in closer. Ina just shakes her head.
"Ina." Armin gently takes both of her hands in his. She tries to resist at first but then lets him move her hands from her face.
"You're okay." He starts. "Say it with me, Ina. I'm okay."
"I'm okay." She's quiet, but she keeps going.
"I'm okay." Armin repeats. Ina takes a deep breath and opens her eyes.
"I'm safe here." Armin still expects her to repeat.
"I'm safe."
"No one can hurt me."
She looks up at him and can see the hurt in his eyes. Can hear it in his voice. She remembers hearing him earlier: 'since I was a child just like her.' He knows her pain. Her struggle. He understands it.
"No one can hurt us." Ina squeezes his hand. Armin smiles and hugs her.
"Good job." He whispers. "You're right. Absolutely right. No one can hurt us."
"There you are!" Hange enters the mess hall. "I was looking everywhere for you two! I was going- is everything okay?"
Armin nods and sits up a little straighter. "Yes. We're just waiting for the Captain to finish with the tea. Ina would like to try some."
"If that's okay." Ina blurts out before looking down to hide her bright red cheeks with her hands.
"Well of course it's okay!" Hange smiles and sits down across from Armin. "I was wondering if you liked the first cup I brought you last time too."
Ina just nods.
"Well, your Captain happens to really like tea so I think you're in for a treat."
Levi brings out the kettle and two cups. He places one of the cups in front of Ina and pours some steaming hot tea into it. "Let it cool." He orders.
Ina nods her understanding. Levi takes his seat next to Hange before pouring his own cup. Hange just laughs quietly and moves to stand. "Want some, Armin?"
"Uhh, sure." He also finds this a little funny. Funny, but not surprising.
"Thanks, hot shot." Hange pats Levi on the back before heading to the kitchen.
Ina stares at her tea and watches the steam swirl around in the air before disappearing. It's mesmerizing. She slowly places her fingers on the cup, marveling at it's incredible warmth. She inches the cup closer to herself and soon she can feel the steam touching her face. Wow, Ina hasn't even drank any and already she feels more relaxed. Calm. The tea has not touched her yet it's warmed her insides. It's even better when she takes her first sip. She enjoys the warm and minty bitterness and feels all her blood vessels come alive as a path of heat travels down her throat and to her tummy.
"Ina?"
She snapped out of her tea induced trance, not even sure who spoke her name.
"Welcome back!" Hange smiles. "Can we ask a few questions?" She supposes now is as good a time as any. The three people Ina seems to trust are all present and right now she is calm. The small child nods, but none of them miss the obvious discomfort in her expression.
"Where are you from?" Hange starts.
"I… I don't remember." Her reply is quiet. "They took me all over."
"The soldiers?"
Ina nods, unsure where this line of questioning is going. "Sometimes the ride would be short, sometimes long."
"Ina, how old were you the first time soldiers found you?" Hange continues.
"I don't know…" Ina tries to avoid everyone's watchful gaze. She doesn't like a lot of eyes on her like this. It always leads to something awful.
"Ina." The Captain- Levi is speaking to her now. "Tell us what you do remember."
She looks down at her half empty mug of tea and slowly shakes her head. "I'll get in trouble." She avoids eye contact. "I can't."
"Yes you can." Levi tells hers.
"I'll get in trouble." She grips the mug so tightly that her knuckles grow pale. She stares into her cup, hoping this will end soon. Ina doesn't like these questions.
"Ina, look at me. You answer to me now." Levi says to her. "No one else."
She nods slowly, her eyes never leaving Levi's.
"Now tell us what happened before we found you." Levi orders, his tone stern yet gentle.
"I was sick." Ina starts. "They…" She shakes her head.
Armin puts a protective arm around her. "Take your time, Ina."
"They were mad…. I couldn't do my work."
"What work was that, Ina?" Hange leans in closer.
"I had to clean. I washed their uniforms, cooked meals, washed dishes, s-serve them drinks, give... give massages." Her voice drops to a frightened whisper. She was their slave.
"They made me… I had to do… Things with them. Whatever they wanted." She can't breathe. "I… I don't want to talk about this. It was bad. It was bad." She covers her ears and starts to rock herself.
Armin can feel Ina shaking. "Captain, I think-"
"I'm not finished. Where was this?" Levi asks, silencing Armin with a glare.
"An apartment. I'm sorry ca- Levi, I don't know where. I'm sorry." She whimpers.
"Hey, it's alright." Armin whispers to her. "It's okay."
"Did you ever see outside the apartment where they kept you?" Hange knows Ina is retreating more into herself. They won't be able to get much more out of her.
"No." She shakes her head. "I'm sorry, Levi. I don't remember a lot. I… I was so sick." Just as they all predicted, now that she's been told she answers to him, she literally only looks at him when she speaks.
"Ina, calm down." Hange says to the frightened girl. "You're doing such a great job."
Levi pours more tea in Ina's mug. "Drink." He orders.
"Okay." Ina lifts the mug to take a sip and feels warmth flood her system once again. She's starting to feel a little better.
"I was still sick and… I couldn't get better fast enough. One of them got really angry. He hit me in my belly till I threw up." Ina guards her stomach. "They laughed at me." She pouts.
"Drink." Levi orders again. Ina obliges.
"At night time they took me on a wagon. It took a really long time. They left me somewhere. There were no people, and all the houses were broken." Ina recalls. "I had a bad fever, so I didn't move for a day. But then I started to get better… I went looking for food in one of the houses… And the ceiling fell down. I… I couldn't move and it was hard to breathe. That's when my back got hurt."
"Do you know how long you were under the ceiling, Ina?" Hange asks.
"The sun went up and down, up… And down…. Three times."
Levi's mug shatters in his hand, which causes Ina to jump. He scoffs in annoyance as he shakes his hand free of the broken pieces. At least it was empty. Ina somewhat composes herself. "I'll clean it." She says quietly and moves to stand but Levi stops her with a look.
"Arlert take her back to the infirmary." Levi orders. "You've done well. It's time to rest."
"But- who will-" "That's not your concern. I want you to rest and heal, like we agreed."
"Okay." She doesn't question him. Doesn't argue. This might be working too well, actually.
Armin stands and takes Ina into his arms.
"My tea…" Ina is quiet.
"You'll have some with your dinner." Levi tells her.
"Okay."
"Rest well." Levi says as Armin walks away with Ina in tow.
"That was smart." Hange comments as she and Levi pick up the broken mug pieces. "Telling her that she no longer answered to the MPs, but to you. Clever."
"I was sick of her fearing retribution from those pigs." Levi is practically mumbling.
"As was I." Hange agrees. "You just beat me to the punch. She's already used to answering to authority. We can be an authority that she trusts."
"We will be."
"I know what you're thinking, Levi." She can see the gears working in his mind.
"No you don't." He gathers the broken pieces into a neat pile.
"We can't go after them." Maybe she does know what he's thinking. Levi says nothing. He won't admit that she was right.
"Hearing that wasn't easy for any of us, believe me. But we can't go looking for these guys. They're MPs. We can't touch them." It's painfully obvious that the odds are stacked in favor of the ever glorified Military Police. They both know that. Levi knew from the beginning that there was simply no way Ina's captors could be pursued within the limits of the law. He never planned for this to be clean in any sense of the word. From the beginning he knew he'd have to abandon rules, rhyme, and reason if he wanted those bastards to pay for what they did to that child.
"Are you proud of me?" Ina asks Armin as he lays her down on her bed in the infirmary.
"I sure am." Armin sits on the edge of the bed. "I know it was difficult to talk about, but that just shows how brave you are."
"What about the cap- um- Levi?" She looks up at him.
"He said so himself, you did well."
"Do I belong to him now?" There's a sharp pain in the center of Armin's chest when Ina says this. Holy... What? How did she even... What? He's quick to cover up his shock so he can respond to her properly.
"Listen to me, Ina. You're a person. A human being. You don't belong to anyone." He rests a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"But the captain said-"
"Captain Levi will protect you no matter what happens. You answer to him in the sense that if you do what he says, you'll be okay. He didn't mean that you belong to him. Ina belongs to Ina."
"I… I don't understand." That makes no sense to her. She's never not belonged to someone or even something. Before coming here she belonged to a soldier. It was always soldier after soldier. Before that, Ina belonged to the streets. It was always a battle for who would own her next.
"Ina belongs to Ina." Armin repeats. "Not to captain Levi, or me. Not to anyone."
"But-"
"You've had a long day." Armin knows that everything that's happened today must be a lot for Ina to grasp. "Dinner is in a few hours. Rest."
"Can you stay with me?" Ina grabs his hand.
"Sure." Armin smiles.
"Thank you…" Ina's hold on his hand tightens. "Big brother." She closes her eyes.
So good gravy I didn't even realize that I'm 6 chapters in and we're still like.. at the beginning of the story. I know I mentioned that this would be a slow burner type of story but golly I didn't mean that slow. I also know that I skimped you guys on updating last week so I'll try to get those done on time. Just so you know, after this day is over, the pace really picks up. Good grief... I'm going to go hide in a corner now...
