The Gift of Memory (Armin Arlert x Reader|Modern AU)

2•Playground

Armin stood idle by the gate. The reddish-brown wood fence was only taller than him by a few inches, making it difficult for the two teenagers to see each other.

He was holding his breath, debating if he should really go in.

'Why am I so nervous? This is ridiculous, she's just a girl.' He mentally told himself before walking a few steps on the wet side walk, stepping in a few small puddles. He stopped once he was in the open area, turning to look at her after gulping.

"H-hey," he forced out of his throat. He was being ridiculous.

The girl stopped her swing. She looked directly at him with a straight face and bluntly stated in the softest possible voice, "I wondered what you were doing."

"Huh?"

"When you stopped. I thought you had to tie your shoe, or something." She finished.

The blonde stepped in before stepping to the side and carefully leaning his back onto the fence. "You knew I was there...?"

"Come here." The playground girl slowly waved her hand towards herself, making a motion for Armin to follow. He did so hesitantly.

She pointed to a hill that was slightly slanted, though you could still see it over the fence. Armin turned to look at it, becoming slightly embarrassed.

'She knew I was here the whole time!'

"Why are you here today? Not that you're not allowed to be in here, but you usually go straight home. And you never talk to me." She pointed out, ignoring the pink tint on his pale cheeks.

He looked down. "Ah, I, uh... Well..." The boy trailed off, unaware how to respond. How do you respond in a way that isn't too creepy or too blunt?

The girl made a single chuckle sound. When Armin rose his head to look at her, he noticed she had a smirk on. "You wanted to talk to me, right? And now you don't know how to respond?" She guessed.

He nodded. She hit the nail straight on the head.

"You look so lonely when you're just sitting here, I-uh... You're right." He admitted. His gaze became fixated on the swing next to her. "Can I sit?"

"It's a public park." She shrugged.

The short blonde nodded and awkwardly sat in the swing, taking hold of chains.

"How long has it been since you've last sat in a swing?" The Playground Girl asked. She wasn't looking at him anymore, but instead she was staring at the ground covered in wood chips.

"Probably a while," he awkwardly chuckled, "maybe, sixth grade?"

"Hm. A lot of people grow out of these kind of things. Playing on playgrounds, you know? I guess I never did." A sad smile rested on her face.

"Well, it seems like a routine for you." Armin pointed out.

"It is."

It became awkwardly silent for a few seconds. He took this chance to inspect her. She was wearing a thin jacket, but it was soaked from the rain earlier, which made it near useless.

Once the girl noticed that he was 'checking her out', she began to feel a bit uncomfortable. However, she absolutely refused to let it show in her body language.