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

25•Live Proof

Y/N woke up with tears rolling down her face. It was the same with Armin, except he was still asleep. She wiped her tears away and shook him so he would wake up.

"Hm?" He mumbled, seeing a blob of (pale/tan/dark) skin and H/C. Once his eyes focused, he realized that he had been crying. He blushed and quickly wiped his eyes and cheeks.

"Y/N... I had a really weird dream." He rubbed his eyes.

"What was it about?"

"It was during the Titan's Era and we were soldiers. And I guess you got into an accident and then you..." He trailed off, eyes widening as if he had realized something.

"I killed myself?" She asked. He nodded. "Yeah. I had the same dream. That's what had happened 2,000 years ago."

"Do you have dreams like that often?" The mortified blonde asked. She nodded. "Most nights. They occurred more often after I told you."

"That couldn't have possibly been real. Reincarnation can't be real, and even if it is, we can't possibly remember past lives..." he breathed out. The girl just stared at him.

He was going along with it, humoring her. He was willing to research it to see if it was remotely possible.

She grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers and looked him dead in the eyes. "The armored titan grabbed me on the left side from my arm and threw me to the side, dislocating and breaking my shoulder. It was so jacked up that they had to amputate it. He threw me into a giant concrete wall that damaged my left kidney and leg, which they also had to amputate. I got a concussion too and a gash on my side. I shot off all of my flares because I just to happened to be carrying them on me. I was found and treated. Due to the amount of my injuries they were going to send me home. I was too afraid of going home and seeing my father so I decided to instead,
"Commit suicide in the library." They spoke in unison.

"In the dream, it felt so real..." he looked down.

"That's because it was real."

-

They woke up unexpectedly early. Probably because of the synchronized nightmare. They woke up at four in the morning, which wasn't too bad. Y/N tried to check her phone but remembered that she left it at home. She wondered what kind of texts she was receiving and how long it would take her parents to realize that she doesn't have her phone with her.

Y/N and Armin, being the nerds they are, were putting together a 1,000 piece puzzle to pass the time. I won't lie, many times they did the cliché 'reach for the same piece' that was rather awkward.

"Tomorrow is Monday." He said. She nodded. "This means you will have to go home." Once again, she nodded.

"I know. I will be out of here tonight. I promise." She smiled at him. He turned away and blushed at how close they were.

"Don't get me wrong, it's not that I want you out of here. My Grampa just won't let you stay on weekdays."

"Isn't this your last week of school?" She tilted her head, adding a piece to the puzzle.

"Yeah. Next year I'm going to be a sophomore. It's actually kinda scary." He chuckled.

"You're one to speak. I'm going to college." The H/C-ette smirked.

"Hey! No matter where you're going, growing up is scary." He pouted, testing a piece that didn't fit.

"I suppose. I had never thought about growing up. I've been a minor for the past couple thousand years. I guess it is kind of scary." She furrowed her eyebrows.

It was silent for a few minutes. It wasn't an awkward silence. It was comfortable. It lasted about ten minutes until Armin spoke up. Ever since the dream, he had something in his mind.

He had noticed that they were obviously close. It wasn't only the fact that he risked getting in trouble for eavesdropping, but it was also that the first person she wanted to see was indeed him. When talking, they seemed completely comfortable with each other, too. It felt as if...

"Can I ask you something about our past life?" He spoke. The girl nodded and mumbled a quick, "Mhm,"

"Were we..." He trailed off, not knowing how to ask without embarrassing himself if he was wrong.

"Lovers?" She finished.

"Yeah,"

She paused. She wasn't sure if she should tell him the truth. After thinking it over rather quickly, she decided it would probably be less embarrassing for him if she did tell the truth. "We were courting, the term we used back then, yes. After we were together for six months, you promised that one day you would propose. If we were both still alive, anyway."

He sighed. He was thinking that somehow he in his previous life was actually man enough to get the girl.

"Wow, you seem rather disappointed to hear that." Y/N sarcastically remarked.

"No, that's not it," he put down the puzzle piece he was holding, "It's just that, before I was humoring you. Now I can somewhat believe you because we happened to have the same dream."

A lightbulb in his head lit up.

"Wait a minute. Actually, I don't think it was a coincidence." His friend tilted her head. "I think we had the same dream because we share memories of our past lives and we were sleeping in the same bed. We were probably touching in our sleep, on accident of course."

He was like a mad scientist who found the reason of life.

"If that's the case... if I keep sleeping with you, does that mean that you will eventually learn to believe me fully?" She asked, really hopefully.

He looked at her sadly. "I don't know. I mean, I kind of believe you now. If I'm right, then that should be the case. Maybe if we have a similar dream to this, then I'll at least know a little more about our past lives together."

She sighed. Letting him know about who she was in a past life was not ideal. However, if it would help him believe her, so be it.