Child!Armin Arlert x Reader: Little Soldier Boy

“(Name)!” you heard a familiar voice exclaim as you were nearly thrown off your horse. You groaned in pain, the boy immediately backing off of you. “O-Oh my gosh…” he squeaked, his eyes noticing the blood covering your arm uniform. He knew instantly that it was your own, seeing as how Titan blood evaporated soon after leaving the host’s body. You leapt off of your trusty steed, gently patting his mane.

“Don’t worry, Armin…” you said softly, gently patting his head. He smiled happily, his blonde hair fluttering about in the gentle breeze. “I can’t believe you came back! How was it? Was it scary? Did you kill any Titans? What was it like outside the walls?” You chuckled at the small boy bombarding you with questions. “I’ll tell you later, little one. Just like I always do. But, for right now, why don’t you come with me and help me get cleaned up?”

You held out your hand, his own small one gripping it tightly. You walked with him to the stables, putting (horse's name) away in his stall for the night. “You did good, (horse's name). Go ahead and get some rest,” you said, gently stroking his soft mane. You watched as Armin reached up, his small hand gently patting your companion’s flank. He gave a low huff, pawing at the ground with his hoof at the small boy’s touch.

This routine was always the same whenever you got back from an expedition. You would promise Armin you would come back, and you always did. When you got back, he would help you put your trusty steed away, and then go with you to your cabin and help clean whatever blood you had smeared on your skin off. You would then proceed to take him to the mess hall, sharing your ration of food with the small, blonde-haired boy. He would usually fall asleep on your lap, and you would let him sleep in your bed with you.

You knew his parents rather well, and they trusted you with their son. They were quite thrilled that their little boy actually had a friend, seeing as how he usually had to deal with the opposite. Even though the small boy was only six years old, he knew a lot more than he should, which made him the target of several older children who picked on him. You were his savior, however. When they saw him with you, a soldier of the famed Scouting Regiment, they immediately left him alone and apologized for their behavior before running off. This made Armin grow even closer to you then he was in the beginning, and you didn’t mind in the slightest.

You felt the soft touch of a wet cloth slide across your cheek, and you gave a small smile at the blonde boy. He giggled, his small lips placing a gentle kiss on one of your wounds. You couldn’t help but smile. This one boy was your everything. You treated him like your own son, and you loved him like your own too. “Thank you, Armin. Now come on. You must be hungry!” you said as you rose from the edge of your bed, picking him up and holding him against your chest.

His small hands gripped the cloth of your shirt, his cheek laying gently on your shoulder. You stroked his hair as you walked down the hallway, the softness beneath your fingers almost godlike. Opening the door to the mess hall, you were greeted by several exclamations of, “Hey, (Name)!” “Oh look! Little Armin is here too!” and even more from the rest of the Regiment. Armin honestly enjoyed the attention, but he always got extremely shy and would bury his face in the crook of your neck.

You got your daily ration of potato soup, and sat down at one of the tables. Armin sat on his knees on your lap, eagerly awaiting to share with you. You picked up your spoon, ladling some of the hot liquid into it and blew gently before letting Armin eat it. He was always careful when he ate, being sure not to waste a single drop of the precious liquid he was offered, for he knew that you needed to eat too.

The two of you continued eating until only a small amount was left inside of your wooden bowl. “(Name)… can you tell me about the…” He interrupted himself with a yawn, his head laying on your chest. “Outside world…?” You smiled softly, gently kissing the small boy on the top of his head. “Of course I can…” With that, you proceeded to tell him everything you had seen on that expedition; the crystal clear rivers of water, the hills with nothing but colorful flowers covering them, and your personal favorite, the large mountains you could see off in the very far distance.

“(Name)…” You looked down, seeing the small boy’s eyes droopy with the need to sleep. “W-when I get older… can we live up in the mountains together…? Just you and me…?” You sighed softly at how innocent he sounded, your finger playing with a lock of his golden hair. “Of course we can, little one…” He yawned, his eyes slowly fluttering all the way shut. “Promise…?” Your breath hitched, but you quickly shook off the feeling in your chest. Leaning down and kissing his cheek gently, you nodded.

“I promise…”

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12 Years Later
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The sky was grey, and very dull. The district of Trost was nearly barren of life, seeing as how everyone was holed up inside their houses. All except three people. Up on one of the far hills inside the wall, three now fully grown soldiers stood. This was a weekly routine for the three of them, and this week was especially important. Two of them, Eren Jaeger and Mikasa Ackerman, stood a ways away from the golden-haired boy, their eyes locked onto the green grass in front of them. They watched as Armin made his way in front of a small stone, his hand placing a small, pink flower in front of it.

“(Name)… it’s me… h-happy birthday…” he said, his voice low and shaky. “We still haven’t defeated the Titans… things only seem to be getting worse. Sometimes, I fear that we’ll never be able to see anything that lies outside of these walls…” He stopped, his hands gently gripping the grass that lay in front of the stone. “But… I can never forget how I felt that day…” he whispered, his hand moving to be placed on top of the cold stone. “But… I promised you I’d live in the mountains with you one day… a-and I’ll keep that promise…”

He stopped, several tears falling onto the blades of grass that rested below him. “I’ll never forget that day, (Name)…”

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“They’re back!” Armin exclaimed happily, throwing open the door of his house and scrambling down the street. He knew that they hadn’t completed their mission, but that wasn’t what mattered to him. He pushed his way through the horde of people surrounding the front gate, managing to make his way to the very front. He looked around, his eyes sparkling as he tried to spot his very best friend.

The soldiers kept coming through the gate, but you were nowhere to be seen. Armin’s smile never faded though. You promised him that you would come back, and when you promised him, you always came back. He followed them back to their cabin, and several of the soldiers that knew him shot him a glance, their faces immediately drooping. Several of the female soldiers who looked at him had to look away to hide their tears, and this made Armin confused.

He kept looking for you, calling your name. (Name)! (Name)! Where are you? You have to tell me about the outside world again!” he exclaimed, weaving his way through the other soldiers. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned around to see a man with light-brown hair. He knew him, but couldn’t quite remember his name. “Armin… please come with me…” he said quietly, beginning to lead him inside the cabins. He walked down the hall with the boy, stopping in front of the door to your room.

“I knew it! (Name) is back!” he exclaimed, grabbing the door handle. Before the man could stop him, Armin burst through the door, a huge smile on his face. “(Name)! You’re-“ He stopped dead in his tracks, his smile fading ever so slightly. There, on your bed, lay your body. You weren’t moving, and your eyes were closed. You had blood trailing down your forehead and out one of the corners of your mouth, your hand on your chest.

“(Name)…” Armin said, walking beside your bed. He grabbed the fabric of your uniform gently, shaking it slightly. “(Name), come on… you can’t be asleep… you have to let me clean your wounds, remember?” he said, shaking you a bit more. You didn’t respond, and Armin’s eyes began to fill with tears. “(Name)… come on…! Please wake up…!” he exclaimed, crawling onto your bed and laying on your chest.

He hugged your body tightly, the tears streaming down his cheeks. “(Name)…” he whimpered, burying his face into your clothes. He broke down, his tears drenching your blood-stained uniform. Lifting his head, he rubbed his hand on your cheek, cleaning the blood from your face. He moved closer to you, his lip quivering as he placed a kiss on one of your wounds. He sniffed, more tears falling from his eyes and his head being buried in the crook of your neck.

The boy stayed with you for hours, crying until his eyes could cry no longer. He eventually fell asleep on your chest, his little arms wrapped as tightly around you as he could manage.

Your arm had somehow been moved over his small frame; as if you were giving him a final hug goodbye.