More Armin being kind of a badass and Eren being kind of a pissy bitch, enjoy :D
A week after his expedition outside the walls Levi called Armin to the training ground during the day for an extra session. Armin had been confused – we never train unless it's first thing in the morning, what's going on? – but arrived at the exact time Levi had told him to be there. His confusion was only heightened when he saw not only Levi but also Hange and Eren as well. Armin looked between then all but Hange was the one who spoke first.
"Armin, nice of you to join us, how are you today?"
"Very well Squad Leader Hange, and yourself?"
"I am fantastic," Hange replied, a slightly manic gleam shinning in excited eyes, "and please don't worry about the titles; just call me Hange."
"Of course," Armin nodded. He turned and smiled at Eren who gave him an awkward smile back. Since their fight in the corridor they hadn't really spoken. It was the longest they had ever gone without speaking and Armin had thrown himself into other things, like training and reading, to stop himself from dwelling on it. If this session went well he thought it might bring them back together again.
"Hi," Eren said shuffling awkwardly as Armin reached him.
"Hey," Armin smiled. He wanted to throw his arms around Eren and hug him, just thankful that he seemed to be talking again (the radio silence had been hell) but thought better of it with Hange and Levi so close by.
"What are you doing here?" Eren asked, breaking the silence. He received a clip round the back of the head from Levi for his trouble.
"He's here in case you fuck it up and go rogue," he snapped.
"I thought that's what you were here for Sir," Eren said, rubbing the back of his head.
"I am here to oversee this experiment," Levi stated. "That does mean taking you down if you go rogue but he is less likely to kill you and make it look like an accident because you're being an annoying little turd."
Armin bit the inside of his lip, trying not to laugh. Throughout their training together he had become used to Levi's blunt, brash honesty (although in this case he was certain that it was just a threat... well, almost certain) but the look of horror that crossed Eren's face, while Hange didn't seem the slightest bit perturbed was quite amusing.
"He's joking Eren, don't worry," Hange said.
"Have you ever known me to crack a joke Glasses?" Levi asked raising an eyebrow.
"Anyway," Hange said, trying to bring the conversation round to the topic at hand, "Eren we need you to transform into your Titan form and then we have a couple of tasks we'd like you to accomplish while you're a Titan, okay?"
"I..." Eren's gaze shifted to Armin, like he was looking for comfort or reassurance or for Armin to jump in and say that this was a bad idea. So far Eren's attempts at maintaining control in his Titan form hadn't been overly successful unless there was an actual opponent for him to take down in front of him. "I don't know if I can."
"What do you mean you don't know if you can?" Levi growled.
"I don't know if..." Eren began but seemed to wither under Levi's glare. "I... I can't seem to do it... unless I'm under stress."
Levi's eyes narrowed and before any of them could react he grabbed Eren by the hair and pulled him down so that they were eye level. Eren cried out, the force of Levi's grip sending him to his knees. He reached up blindly to clutch at Levi's wrist to try and lessen the pain. Armin open his mouth to say something, knowing from experience what it was like to be on the receiving end of Levi's anger when he was pissed off, but Hange got there before he had the chance.
"Is that really necessary Levi?"
"You want to be under stress you fucking waste of space then I will give you stress," Levi snarled not paying attention to either Hange or Armin standing there, not taking his eyes off Eren. "You are supposed to be learning how to do this on command, you useless little shit, if you can't do that then you are of no use to me or anyone."
"Yes Sir," Eeren whimpered still clutching at Levi's hand, tears in his eyes.
"Remember that people have fought and died to protect you because you're supposed to be our last hope," Levi said letting go of Eren's hair and letting him drop the the floor, where he caught himself on his hands and knees. "If you don't learn how to control your powers then they threw away their lives for nothing."
"Yes Sir," Eren said, his voice trembling. Armin knew that had to hit home. When they had come from the last scouting mission where they had first encountered Annie in Titan form Eren had been beside himself, constantly waking from dreams about Petra, Oluo, Gunther and Eld along with all the other soldiers he had seen die.
Armin took a tentative step towards him and Eren seemed to remember that he was there. He looked up at him, pain and humiliation filling turquoise eyes, before blinking back the tears and turning away. Having Armin there witnessing him being reprimanded like a child only seemed to make it worse for Eren.
"On your feet," Levi snapped as he turned and stalked away. Eren nodded, even though Levi wasn't paying any attention, and pushed himself off the floor.
"You know you could..." Hange began as Levi passed.
"Shut the fuck up!"
"Message received," Hange nodded, still smiling brightly as if Levi's outburst was the most normal thing in the world, before turning to Eren. "Okay let's get you at a safe distance and then we'll go for Experiment Number One." Hange flung an arm around Eren's shoulder and led him away to the other side of the training ground. Armin watched them go, wondering what he was supposed to do now.
"Arlert," Levi called over his shoulder. Armin took that as his cue and ran to catch up with him.
"Yes Sir," he said once they were level.
"Get geared up," Levi told him. "We're probably going to need you by the end of the day."
"Yes Sir," Armin nodded.
"Do you think that was too harsh?" Levi asked after a pause, his tone unchanged. Armin opened his mouth to say yes but closed it, thinking better of it. "You can tell me if you do, I won't hold it against you."
"I think you tell people what they need to hear Sir," Armin said after a moments thought, "whether it's what they want to hear or not."
"That's one way of putting it I suppose."
"I know I needed it when you said a similar thing to me," Armin stated. "He'll probably resent you for it for a while but it will be the kick up the arse he needs."
"You're starting to sound like me," Levi said after a pause. "Go get geared up, let's see how this plays out."
Hange's experiments seemed to go off without a hitch. It took a few attempts for Eren to shift into his Titan form each time, and when he shifted out of it it was rather disgusting but he was able to hold control long enough to perform a few simple tasks. Armin watched, beginning to wonder if he was even going to be needed until after a particularly gruelling task Eren seemed to loose control.
"Eren," Hange called up to him, "can you hear me?"
"Draw your blades," Levi told Armin as Eren stared down at Hange.
"Eren," Hange said again, "can you hear me?"
Eren's answer was to raise his fist, holding it in mid-air for a second before bringing it down on top of where Hange was standing. Hange jumped out of the way just before Eren's fist hit the floor, sending dirt and dust flying everywhere. Hange sprang back to where Armin and Levi were standing, ready and waiting.
"You fucked it up Glasses?" Levi asked.
"It's quite possible that the mental strain of having to shift into Titan form so many times in one day made him lose control after a while," Hange replied.
"So you fucked it up," Levi stated. He turned to Armin. "You're up Arlert."
"What?"
"Take him down," Levi said. Armin stared at him with wide eyes for a moment before looking over at Eren who seemed to be stumbling blindly through the dust towards them. He turned back to Levi.
"I don't think I can," he said, voice trembling slightly. "I mean, it's Eren."
"I know he's your friend and I'm not asking you to take him down and kill him I'm just asking you to stop him from going on a rampage now," Levi told him. "If we were out in the field and he did this then it wouldn't just be you, me and Glasses who's lives were on the line; it could be the whole regiment. Hell, depending on where we are there could be civilians involved and if that is the case then you are going to need to pull it together, harden your resolve and do what needs to be done for the good of everyone."
"Okay," Armin said looking over towards Eren who seemed to be closer to them now that the dust had cleared. Could he really take down his best friend? He had stabbed him in the back of the neck once before but he was unconscious then and there wasn't as much of a chance that he could slip and accidentally kill him. Now he was going to be moving and thrashing and if Armin made one wrong move there he could slice through the wrong part of the neck or cut too deep and he would accidentally kill Eren or do some damage that might not grow back.
No, Levi was right; if Eren went rogue while they were out in the field then there was a chance that he could wipe out the entire squad. Armin clenched his teeth and tightened his grip on his blades. He had taken down a Titan before so it shouldn't be too difficult if he didn't think about it being Eren until the last second. He closed his eyes to block the world out for a brief moment before taking a deep breath and running towards Eren.
Eren still seemed to be a lot more sluggish than usual when it Titan form and Armin was going to use that his his advantage. If he could bring him to the floor then there was a greater chance he could remove him from his Titan body without hurting him. The first thing he needed to do was get him at ground level. As he got closer Eren swiped at him but Armin skidded out of the way of his huge hand and through his legs so that he was behind him. A swing of his blades to the back of each ankle and a loud scream of pain rent the air.
Armin engaged his ODM gear, his target half way up Eren's spine. There was another scream of pain as the end sunk into flesh. Armin allowed the cable to pull him so that he was standing at the base of Eren's spine. He hadn't quite got his footing right and, on instinct, plunged his blade into the small of his back, causing another scream of pain.
Armin firmly planted his boots against the tough skin and looked down. Thanks to the cuts to his ankles Eren didn't seen to be going anywhere but he was wildly thrashing in the direction the pain was coming from meaning Armin didn't have long to make his next move. He let the cable out again, falling back down as one of Eren's hands reached round and slammed into the place he had been standing just seconds ago. When he reached the backs of Eren's knees he gave a swipe with each of his blades and they gave out.
Eren fell allowing Armin to launch another of his cables so that he could pull himself up to the nape of Eren's neck. He panted his boots either side of the nape to steady himself, he had to do this quickly or there was still a chance he could be swatted like a fly. Eren's legs might be out of commission but his arms were still fully functional. Armin could feel his hand trembling as he raised one of his blades, about to bring it down on the back of Eren's neck, but he stopped himself before he could land the blow. If he didn't have a steady hand then there was no point in trying to save Eren, he'd probably just end up killing him.
You can do this Arlert, he heard Levi's voice inside his head. Just take a deep breath and concentrate, you know what you have to do.
Armin closed his eyes and took a long, slow breath in to stead himself. The Levi inside his head was right and he was almost certain that if he could hear the Levi down on the ground then there was every chance that he would be telling him the same thing. One more swing, that's all it will take. It didn't need to be deep, in fact the shallower the better as he could pull Eren out rather than cut off the nape with him still inside.
Determination fixed on his face Armin looked down at the hard skin beneath him and swung his blade down over it. It split open far enough for Armin to be able to reach inside and hook his arm around Eren's waist. Using all his strength he pulled as hard as he could. Slowly, as if tendon by tendon, he felt the muscle, nerves and sinew connecting Eren to the Titan body begin to snap until finally he pulled him out of the body completely. Eren was panting and practically unconscious, like every time Armin had seen him after he had come out of his Titan form, but he was alive.
Now that he was no longer inside it Eren's Titan body fell to the floor. With the extra weight of Eren now heaved onto his shoulder Armin braced himself against the back of the neck and waited for the impact of the body against the ground before moving. He felt his knees buckle slightly and he tightened his grip on Eren as the body he was standing on connected with the earth and finally stopped moving. He let out the breath that he had been holding before what he had just done and the weight of Eren sunk down on him and his knees gave out.
"Armin! Eren!" he heard Hange call over to them and looked round to see both Hange and Levi running towards them. Armin's head was spinning, he felt dizzy and sick all at once and the hand that wasn't wrapped around Eren's waist was holding onto one of his blades as if it were a lifeline. "Armin," Hange said softly, "you can let go now."
"Okay," he said, his voice coming out in a rasp rather than anything like his normal speaking voice. He felt Hange prising Eren out of his grip as his body seemed unwilling to let go. Once he was out Hange took Eren away from the Titan corpse to try and bring him back to full consciousness, leaving Armin kneeling, alone, at the nape of its neck. He felt a strong hand grab him by the scruff of his collar and pull him to his feet. He looked round to see Levi and allowed himself to be dragged after Eren and Hange.
"You alright?" Levi asked quietly. Armin opened his mouth but couldn't seem to make a sound. It had been different killing Titans out on the field. That was life or death and those Titans didn't have someone human inside them (especially someone who happened to be his best friend). In a way this had also been life or death but knowing that he could have killed Eren in the process made everything startlingly more terrifying. "Armin?"
"I... I'm fine," he stammered, finally finding his voice, "just a little shaken."
"Understandable," Levi replied. "You did very well though. That was a valiant effort and you managed to do it causing minimal damage as well."
"Thank you Sir," Armin panted trying to catch his breath. He hadn't realised just how much adrenaline had been pumping through him until it had gone and he was suddenly overcome with fatigue.
"You though," Levi said rounding on Eren, who looked up at him from the ground with wide, terrified eyes. He knew that he was about to get lectured and he already felt bad enough as it was without having Levi dress him down on top of that. "Get on your feet."
"Yes Sir," Eren said scrambling to stand, saluting Levi once he was up.
"You can't go rogue after just a little bit of mental strain," Levi said. "If we end up on a long mission you're not going to have a whole lot of time to pull yourself back together enough to become a Titan without trying to kill everyone. You need to learn how to control yourself more if you want to become a better soldier and take down Titans. You can't rely on your strength alone, you need skill, which you seem to be severely lacking."
"Yes Sir," Eren said. He hung his head and Armin could see tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. He felt his heart clench, he hated seeing Eren in pain especially if there was nothing that he could do to help.
"Go get yourselves cleaned up, both of you," Levi said. "You got everything you need Glasses? I don't want to have to spend any more time with you than I have to."
"I believe I've got everything I need for now," Hange said beaming, seemingly unperturbed by Levi's dressing down of Eren or the fact that Eren could have killed them all only moments ago. "I can go over what I got from today and schedule another one of these sessions. Thank you both for today."
"Thank you Squad Leader," Armin said when Eren failed to say anything. He saluted both Levi and Hange as well, waiting until they had turned and left the training ground Hange twittering away to Levi who seemed stiffer than usual as he walked, probably because he didn't want to have to listen. Once they were out of sight Armin turned to Eren and placed his hand on his shoulder. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Eren snapped shrugging him off.
"Did I hurt you at all when I pull you out?" Armin asked trying to ignore how hurt he was by Eren's waspish demeanour.
"No," Eren replied, still sounding like a petulant child. He's just annoyed because he got dressed down by Levi in front of you, don't take it personally.
"Don't beat yourself up about it," Armin said nodding his head in the direction of the steaming Titan carcass still lying in the middle of training ground. "That could have happened to anyone after being forced through that so many times."
"Will you shut up," Eren snapped.
"Sorry," Armin replied, taken aback, "I'm just trying to help." Seriously don't take it personally, he's just damaged his pride.
"Well don't," Eren said. "I don't need you pitying me because I can't even go a few rounds without even turning rogue and I'm fucking useless."
"He didn't mean that," Armin said knowing exactly what Eren was referring to.
"You're defending him now?" Eren asked. "You in love with him or something?"
"No," Armin replied rolling his eyes. Eren was immature yes, but this was a whole new level of immaturity. "He just sometimes says things that you need to hear to motivate you, he doesn't necessarily mean it."
"Whatever," Eren said petulantly.
"Look I'm sorry," Armin said. Eren was clearly exhausted so of course he was going to be little pissy; he should give him the benefit of the doubt and not allow himself to fly off the handle at him. "And I'm sorry if I hurt you when I cut you out but I didn't want to end up cutting off your limbs or anything. I never know if they're going to grow back or not."
"Yeah well I doubt you'd worry too much if you did," Eren said.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Armin asked glaring at him. That had hurt. No matter how pissed off Eren was that was a cheep shot and he had no right to to tell Armin how he was supposed to act.
"I just mean you seem so interested in pleasing Levi these days you'd probably kill me if he told you to and it meant that you'd get into his good books," Eren snapped.
"That's not true and you know it," Armin said. He felt like crying all over again, even their argument in the corridor hadn't been this bad. Now Eren really seemed to have it in for him and was convinced that he didn't care about him one way or the other. "Why are you being so pissy about this?"
"Because you're the one who's supposed to struggle, not me," Eren replied.
Armin stared at him open mouthed, reeling from his words. Had he really just said that? There was a part of him that wondered if he had. He must have heard that wrong, Eren would never be that hurtful on purpose would he. His outbursts had seemed to surprise even him as Eren seemed to be staring at Armin with wide eyes and his mouth also hanging open. If he was going to try and take it back then he was taking his sweet time about it and Armin found that he didn't want to listen to any kind of apology Eren could come up with. He hadn't held back and he had clearly meant it so what apology could he make that wouldn't come out sounding incredibly false.
"Well I guess you won't have to worry about me stealing your spotlight anymore," Armin said when he finally found his voice. "I'm done."
"What do you mean you're done?" Eren asked in a small voice. "I thought getting strong was what all this training was about."
"I am done with you," Armin stated. Without another word he turned on his heel and walked away.
He heard Eren call his name but it fell on deaf ears. After that he had neither the patience or the will to listen to him. If Eren was going to be that way that was fine; Armin didn't have to listen to it and he certainty didn't have to put up with it. He could feel angry tears pricking the corners of his eyes and he made a beeline for the deserted bathroom that only he used, desperately trying to hold himself together until he was there.
As he rounded the end of the corridor he could feel the tears beginning to fall and broke into a run. He slammed the door closed behind him although he doubted there was anyone who would either be around or who would come looking for him. He grabbed one of the nicer towels he had stolen from the regular bathrooms to use, hugged it to his chest and cried. He sobbed into the towel until his eyes stung and his throat was raw, feeling as if something irreplaceable had just been ripped out of him.
