e m p t y // various x male!reader [Shingeki No Kyojin]

6 - New Memories [1.4]

chapter six — new memories [1.4]

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Armin was nice— [Name] really liked him. He was gentle, his voice was soft and he wasn't an idiot. That was enough for [Name] to not hate him, surprisingly. Fortunately for him, Armin liked him too.

"How has your handwriting gotten?" Armin asks, eating some cookies Beatrice made for them. They sitting on the table inside [Name]'s house— the usual spot to teach [Name].

"I think it's better. But I've gotten some trouble remembering some letters." Handing him his notebook, [Name] watches expectantly as Armin takes the item and looks at it, flipping some pages.

Humming, the blond inspects the semi-messy handwriting. It wasn't a pleasant looking typography, but it was enough to understand it. There were some words that contained backwards letters, but it was a great improvement since last week. "I see you have some problems with certain letters, but you have improved a lot! I'm happy my teaching has somehow worked..."

Blinking, [Name] stares at the blonde in silence. It wasn't a secret he always looked down on himself— he always felt weak when [Name] or whoever who came to defend him agaisnt the bullies. It was plastered all around his face— but [Name] thinks Armin is strong.

"You are smart." [Name] begins, resting his head on the table, looking at the blonde without an expression. "I like you, Armin."

The blue-eyed boy blinks in surprise before blushing a little by the bland statement. "I—I like you too, [Name]!"

Slightly lifting the tips of his lips, a smile barely noticeable, the amnesiac boy speaks, "I'm glad." Straightening his posture, the boy looks expectantly at his friend, who blinks in return before snapping out of his thoughts.

"U—Uhm! I—I think we should get to reading!" He hands him a simple book for children, easy to read. His friend takes it and opens it before glazing at the words and begins his reading exercise.

Armin was... always curious about [Name]. The first thing that made him amazed and interested in him was back then when he first protected him— he actually fought similar like Mikasa. He had never seen him around before— he was confused at first. An unknown kid helping him instead of his best friend Eren.

But the most impressive thing was his eyes— they were nothing Armin had seen before. They were unique. The children around the neighborhood were pretty harsh on him for his eyes and his demeanor, telling him 'freak' and 'weird'. But Armin could see his friend was unfazed by these comments— he was really strong.

[Name] was so calm and collected. His only weakness was his headaches and, maybe, Beatrice. The blond could see the incredible attachment his friend had with the nice woman— and Beatrice loved him dearly. Armin believed if something bad happened to the woman, [Name]'s calm behavior would broke in some way— it was pretty clear to him.

[Name] and Eren where obviously different, but not that much. Armin knew [Name] could be pretty brutal when fighting some times— like when the bullies had yet again stolen food from Armin, and when the amnesiac boy knew about this, Armin had never seen someone so scary. Basically, [Name] had made the bully throw up, and then made him eat it again. He only knew of this because Mikasa had told them about it, because when that happened, the bullies left Armin alone for some time.

Armin did like [Name] a lot. He enjoyed his time with him, reading for him, teaching how to write and read... it was different. He was glad Eren and [Name] had become good friends in the end, as Armin finally could keep company with both of them without the two killing each other that much.

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"And hear this! It says the ocean is made of saltwater!" The blonde excitedly speaks, showing the drawings to [Name]. "No merchant can finish all the salt it has!"

"Ocean..." [Name] blinks as he looks at the drawing. His fingers touch it gently, as if it's a part of the sea. He's silent without expression, worrying Armin.

"Is something wrong?"

The amnesiac boy doesn't respond. There's something familiar he can't fully grasp— this 'ocean' is familiar to him in some way. But as he tries to remember anything, a shock passes trough all of his body at the same time images appear on his mind for seconds— but one particular burns: something blue as the sky.

He can even hear some type of bird, the ocean waves... but there's a voice— a woman's voice besides him, but he can't see her face as his gaze in locked on the peaceful  sea. Then, her clear but unrecognizable voice says:

"The ocean is what keeps us apart from them."

Blinking, the memory? disappear as he speaks without thinking, "I think I've seen it."

Armin's eyes widened in surprise, not believing what he's hearing. "That's impossible! The ocean is outside this walls! No one has ever seen it!"

[Name] doesn't say anything— he's sure it was a memory, even if it was clear for some seconds, it burns in his mind. He's sure is real— the ocean, the sounds, her voice... It's too real, like he was there with her.

He wants to tell Armin about it, but the boy remembers Beatrice had told him to not tell anybody about him being outside the walls. It could cause a lot of trouble for him or her, and obviously he didn't want that. So he shuts his mouth and doesn't say much.

"Yeah... I think I'm imagining things," he dismissed the entire conversation, "let's read some more."

His blond friend looks like he wants to say something else, but the look [Name] is giving him shuts him down. It's clear to Armin that [Name] doesn't want to say anything else, and he obeys. The blond kid keeps on reading, sometime stealing some glances at his friend while [Name] tries his best to follow,. But the memory keeps his mind occupied, wondering about something the woman said to him...

"It keeps us apart from who, exactly...?"