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

4•Friends

"Hey, guys. This is Y/N." Armin's words came out softly as he gestured to the girl who stood slightly behind him.

After they both went home the previous night, Armin received a text from Y/N asking where to meet up and what time. They ended up meeting at the park around 10:30 A.M. because it was the only place they both had in common.

"Hi," the seemingly shy girl spoke in a small voice. Everyone else said their 'hey's and 'hello's back.

"Who else is coming?" Armin asked Eren.

"Well, Eren, you, your friend, Jean, Sasha, and I are already here." Mikasa counted on her fingers. That made six here already. They were expecting a couple more.

"Connie is the only one left. Christa and Ymir would've made it, but Christa's dad wanted bonding time, or something. I dunno. And you know Ymir."

"Yeah, that bitch won't do anything with us unless her girlfriend is here." A voice said from behind our two main characters here.

The two turned around and everyone saw the short male with a buzz cut.

"That sounds co-dependent." Y/N carelessly said in her so quietly soft voice, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

Connie took a look at the girl with a confused expression, then pointed to her with her thumb and said to the others, "Okay, who's this chick?"

"Some girl Armin found at a playground." Jean answered, wording the sentence in such wrong ways.

"Wait, you mean Armin kidnapped some poor little girl from a playground?!" Sasha melodramatically exclaimed.

The same time Armin said, "No!" was the same time Y/N jokingly argued, "Yes."

"You poor child." Sasha said as both she and Connie put their palms to their chests.

Y/N somehow kept a straight face through this, but the others, excluding Mikasa, were at least smiling a little.

"Not to ruin the moment, but we still have to buy tickets." Mikasa mentioned.

-

"Saaashaa! You're just gonna puke it up later!" Connie complained to her. "We don't need cotton candy now!"

"But it's delicious!" Sasha argued back, taking a bite out of it.

They had already ridden a few rides, such as spinning teacups and a roller coaster. And because Sasha decided to buy cotton candy, now she couldn't get on any rides without throwing up. Probably.

Jean was the one to come up with a suggestion, which was games. Everyone agreed, though it's not like they had a choice other than abandoning Sasha or doing nothing else.

They mostly played the games where you have to throw a ball to knock down a picture, or pop a balloon with a dart. Though Y/N was a bit standoffish, she did win the game where they played against each other. The point is that you have to shoot water into a creepy clowns mouth until the balloon at the top pops. But it wasn't a difficult game, being honest.

It was highly amusing when Eren came into last place for that game. And he would've kicked the damn booth if Mikasa and Armin weren't quick to stop him.

They decided to stop and get some lunch. The guys were polite enough to volunteer to get the food for the girls. How charismatic, right?

Though, once Armin left poor little awkward Y/N all alone, it was as if Mikasa's motherly instincts went off on a radar.

She sat down in front of Y/N. "You're not used to being around such a rowdy crowd, huh?" She spoke in a soft voice.

Y/N looked up from the table she was staring at. "Hm. That obvious?"

"Armin was the same way when he started middle school. God, I'm so used to taking care of those two boys." She chuckled, referring to her stepbrother and his childhood friend. "But what do you want to do?"

"Hm?" Y/N tilted her head so innocently.

"You haven't asked to go on any rides or play certain games." Mikasa pointed out.

"Oh. I'm fine with anything."

'...Anything that's not like a zip line or the swing ride.'

"Aw, come on." The ravenette moved some of her hair out of her face to see better.

"Ah... um..." Y/N took a look around the park to see what was there, "What about the pirate ship...?"

Mikasa turned around to look at where the other girl was gazing.

"Okay, then."

And with that, Mikasa grabbed her wrist and started pulling her along. Once she almost passed Sasha, who was sitting at a nearby table, she stopped and told her, "Hey, we're going to go ride the pirate ship."

Once they made it through the crowd and stood in the relatively short line (for a carnival ride), they started to talk again.

"You're really strong... And fast." Y/N breathed out, stunned and shaky. "Do you play sports, or something?"

"Yeah, actually. I box."

"Oh, shit. Remind me to never anger you."

After waiting a short while in the line, the ride ended and everyone got off. Some looked scared or sick, and as they got on, Mikasa started speaking again.

"You know, my mom took me on one of these when I was younger," she started as they climbed up the stairs to enter the ride, "but it scared me so bad that I never wanted to get on one again."

'That's reassuring.' Y/N thought.

-

"Dude, I can't believe Mikasa stole your date." Eren scoffed.

"I know, I feel like I abandoned her and Mikasa picked her up." Armin sulked. He then realized what Eren referred to her as and said, "She's not my date!"

"Damnit. I'm upset now, too." Jean joined Armin in the sulking.

"Jean, why the hell are you upset? You already had no chance with Mikasa!" Connie exclaimed, making Jean's wound even deeper.

"Yeah, Jean, I think Mikasa just thinks you're creepy." Said no other than Eren.

Now there's a new wound.

"Plus, you're trying way too hard!" Sasha exclaimed with a mouth full of deep fried Oreos.

...And that killed him.

He dramatically slumped over the table, face down.

"It doesn't feel so good when it's you being accused of these things, is it?" Armin smiled sadly. Jean sat up and faced him.

"Hey, at least I wasn't the one who stalked a girl for ten years!" He yelled, gaining the stares of other people eating at the food market.