The Walls We've Built - ◈ ARMIN ARLERT X OC ◈

Chapter 5 - Midnight

I creep into the silent space, the moonlight shines through the open windows eliminating the room. Both Jacob and Gen are asleep, Jacob has fallen asleep in the chair facing Gen's bed with his jacket covering him like a blanket. I put down my box of goods and start taking off my ODM gear which is now feeling extremely heavy, the quiet rattling of my buckles coming undone is the only sound in the room. I fiddle with my straps when the sight of movement from the bed catches my eye, I find myself tightly gripping my swords when I notice it's only Gen waking up.

She sits up in her bed rubbing her eyes, she looks over at me still grasping my sword. "You really need some sleep don't you?" She questions as I let go of my sword before sitting on the side of her mattress, I let my shoulders drop from their tense position. I stare at the ground letting my fringe fall in front of my eyes, "Yeah, it's been a long day." I say quietly scoffing, we sit in the quiet room for a moment longer. I look over at Jacob who is still peacefully sleeping, one of the only times he isn't talking, I catch myself smiling in the mirror next to Jacob opposite the bed.

I turn back to Gen, "So what woke you up?" I ask in a whispering tone, "Well you and partly the fact I am absolutely famished!" She says smiling, "Oh yeah sorry about that." I reply, getting up to retrieve the box of bread and cheese. I put it on the bed in between Gen and me, she snatches up a loaf of bread before replying between chews, "Where the hell did you go? One minute you say you'll be right back with dinner and 3 hours later here you finally are!" She states in a curious way.

I reach into the box grabbing some bread for myself before replying, "I was just talking to some other recruits that I met today" she looks at me confused before taking another bite of her bread. "Well that was just for 20 minutes or so, on the way back I ran into my friend, Armin" I reply, swallowing my bread, Gen continues to look at me blankly. "Ahh, the one who saved me from dying on the church roof." I clarify, realising she didn't know about him. "Ohhh, Armin, I think Jacob mentioned her." Gen states before taking another bite. "Him" I correct her while chewing, she looks at me surprised "him?" She questions with a tilted head. "Yeah Armin, he is a him," I say nodding my head, "him?" Gen asks again, confused. "Yes! Gen 'him'" I replied laughing, "Are you sure?" She asks, I look at her blankly not sure how to reply "Yes I'm sure! Why do you need proof of identity or something?" I ask laughing off her surprised expression

"That idiot spent 30 minutes blabbering about how he killed 1 titan but didn't mention Armin was a dude!" Gen states dropping her arms. "I don't understand why you're so surprised!" I ask now confused, "When Jacob said someone brought you to HQ I was expecting you to have been with some brunette girl or something." Gen quickly gestures to Jacob, "So are you upset Armin isn't a brunette female?" I ask trying to understand what Gen is getting at, she looks at me equally confused before shaking her head, "Never mind, Armin is a dude got it." Gen finished and continues to eat her bread. We sit together eating our bread and cheese.

I finished my loaf and reach for a piece of cheese when I hear Jacob jolt awake. I look over at him, he jumps up reaching for his sword that is not there as he has already taken his ODM gear off. "Hey, Jacob! Relax, you are ok!" I state, moving towards him, he moves away from me confused about where he is, his jet black hair is messy and his eyes are watering. He quickly wipes his eyes before moving his hair out of his face, he looks at me and Gen, then at the box on the bed next to me. "Do you have food in there?" He asks, pointing at the box, I look into the wooden crate that still contains a loaf of bread and some cheese. I nod, handing him the box, he grabs it off me nodding before sitting on the opposite side of gen's bed facing the window.

Jacob eats his food facing away from Gen and me, we look at each other confused. Jacob senses the awkwardness, "Sorry, just a bad dream." He says looking over his shoulder at Gen and me, I nod at him understanding why. Today we experienced things we will never forget. We give Jacob a minute to eat his food and compose himself, we stay with Gen for a while longer before we hear a knock at the door. "Come in" Gen answers as we are all curious who is also awake at this time. The door creaks open revealing the middle-aged man with black hair Jacob and I saw earlier. "I heard talking at a time that is usually silent" He states stepping through the doorway. "Sorry, we were just about to leave we didn't mean to wake you." I reply in the most polite way possible, "You think I was asleep? How naive." He scoffs. Unsure of how to reply I look at Jacob who is once again staring at him. "Come on Jacob, we should go now," I say, grabbing his arm. "We will come back tomorrow morning first thing." I tell Gen as we leave, "Yeah no problem see you guys then" she says in a concerned tone.

I grab the box off Jacob and lead him out of the room, I look at the man apologetically as we walk past him. We continue down the hallway and I hear Gen's door close behind me, I look over my shoulder to see the man walk in the opposite direction. "That guy gives me the chills." Jacob says as we leave the building, "Yeah, me too" I respond as we make our way to our residential building. We walk through the now silent pebble streets of Trost district. This will be one of our last nights all together as the 104th cadet corps, our choosing ceremony is only a few days away. Finally, I can help save the people.