Work Text:
There he was, staring at him again with those threatening eyes in the middle of the class. Armin already had a good handful of bullies to deal with, he didn’t want another one. The new transfer student, Eren Yeager, was known to be a delinquent, or at least that was what the rumors said. The boy arriving at the school in the middle of the year was bound to be an event, and it didn’t take long for people to start gossiping. Marco told Armin he had heard somewhere that Eren was expelled from his old school for beating people up, or was it from being involved with drugs? No one really knew, but everyone avoided Eren. Armin never liked rumors and tried not to believe them, though it was hard not to think the guy was dangerous when he kept glaring at him that way.
It started right on the first days he was at school. Eren had English classes with Armin and, for some reason, he kept staring at him. Armin got scared because Eren’s looks were angry; he really looked like he was trouble and Armin hoped Eren would do nothing more than just stare since he already had other people bullying him to worry about and he couldn’t afford having another bully, it was bad as it was. Two weeks after Eren started school and he had done nothing and for that Armin was glad, but the angry staring never stopped. He didn’t know what he had done to the guy, but he also didn’t know what he had done to the ones who bullied him and they still did. Actually, he knew very well the reason why he was picked on, though he never understood why it was a reason to be treated the way he was treated or beat up. Since childhood, Armin was frail and looked somewhat like a girl; he was called a faggot many times and it hurt, mainly because Armin was actually gay.
When he was a kid, he didn’t understand why it could be wrong, it was just the way he was, but as he got older he started to comprehend the meaning of being like that. He never tried to hide anything and stood stall every time someone tried to put him down for his sexuality, he fought for what he believed and though it was hard coming home all swelled and sore, he never once thought about changing himself. Rather than that, he knew the ones who bullied were wrong, but he could do nothing about it. The school never did anything about the bullying and he didn’t know what to do besides complaining to the board. Thankfully, Marco and Jean, his friends, stood by him and helped him whenever they could, but the bullies always seemed to manage to catch him alone. It was no different that day.
Once class was finished, Armin tried to leave the school as soon as possible to avoid trouble. He had to walk home alone and hoped he would get there safe, but when he turned on a corner, he bumped into two of the guys who liked to pick on him. They had a wicked smile on their face and Armin knew what was coming. They dragged him by force at a park nearby and started the insults. It was the usual: faggot, sissy, disgusting. When the first punch came, he felt a sharp pain on his stomach and fell. They had him in front of a tree and no one was passing by. Armin, laying on the ground, felt a kick on his legs, then another, his vision was already little blurred. He wondered when that was going to end when another kick came; the punch on his stomach was pretty hard and the kicks added were making him almost pass out. When no other kick or punch came, he wondered what was going on. Were they over? Armin opened his eyes and saw Eren, yes, Eren Yeager, the delinquent guy, punching one of the guys and the other one was already on the ground. What was going on?
“You’re gonna pay, you despicable pigs!”
Eren was all out. He seemed to be using the skills of some kind of martial art, Armin didn’t know, but he knew he was good. It wasn’t long until the guys were passed out on the ground. Eren took a punch on the face, though, but other than that, he was practically untouched. Armin never thought something like that could happen. He wondered if Eren, once he finished, was going to come to beat him, but, instead, Eren kneeled on the ground near him with a very worried face.
“Are you alright? Can you stand?” – He desperately asked.
Armin stood quiet for a moment, dumbfounded, and, after the shocked passed, he answered that he didn’t know. Eren told him they should get out of that place and picked Armin from the ground, holding him bridal-style. He said his place was nearby; Armin was too hurt to complain and Eren really seemed like he wanted to help. He felt dizzy and closed his eyes on their way to Eren’s house. When they got there, they were welcomed by Eren’s mother, who got very worried about Armin’s state. Eren placed him on the couch and his mother brought a first-aid kit and water for him to drink. Once he was back to his senses, he realized what was happening. Eren was sitting on the couch in front of him; Armin tried getting up, but was still too weak for that. He sat again and Eren came to him, sitting by his side.
“Are you okay? How do you feel?” They looked at each other. Armin saw in Eren’s face all his concern and couldn’t help but smile. He felt really happy that he was helping him.
“It’s just that… It’s hurting.”
“Those bastards!” Eren looked at Armin and then lowered his eyes, a little hesitant. He still asked: “Hey… does it happen frequently?”
Armin thought it was considerate of Eren asking that. Somehow, he felt very glad that he was showing so much worry for him. “Yeah. Not every day, but at least once a week, I would say.”
“You’re being bullied… I should have noticed it before! I noticed you were with a few bruises last week, but couldn’t ask you.” He revealed, admitting he was watching Armin. “I was on my way home and saw what was happening and…”
“You became a monster.” Armin laughed a little. “Those guys were bigger than you. How did you beat them?”
“I practice Judo. I’m glad I was there. Hey, why do you put up with them?”
"I’m used.” Armin answered, resigned. “It seems nothing I do makes them stop anyway.”
“Why would they bully you? They are so low!”
“Isn’t it obvious? It’s because I’m the way I am. You get it, don’t you?”
Eren kept quiet. Armin, for a moment, felt scared. Eren had helped him, but would he still talk to him in the future? He knew being his friend meant being made fun of and he was already lucky enough to have two friends, but, somehow, he wanted to be friends with his savior. His doubts were soon washed away, as Eren started talking to him about other things, asking him about his life, what did he do. Eren’s mother brought them snacks and they kept talking on the couch. Armin discovered Eren changed schools because his father was transferred to their city; previously, they lived in a city in the south of the state, in Shinganshina, but now they were going to be stationed there in Trost. Eren cleared up the rumors. He wasn’t expelled, though he was involved in fights, mainly in fights like the one Armin saw; Eren would defend people and would always be misunderstood. He also discovered Eren had an adopted sister, Mikasa, but she was already in college, since she was a year older, and she studied in another state. They talked a lot and it never seemed like Eren was angry at him for anything like it seemed at school. At some point, Armin finally gathered some courage to ask.
“Hey Eren, you know, I thought you didn’t like me.”
Eren seemed surprised. “Why was that?”
“You are always glaring at me at school, I thought you were going to beat me up any time.”
“No!” Eren blushed a little and Armin thought it was cute. “I… I’m sorry. Sometimes, I seem angry and people misunderstand me. But I was looking at you, yes.”
“So, what did you mean by those looks?” He inquired further. Armin’s heart started to beat a little faster. Was he expecting something? It surprised him and he regretted having asked that, but Eren was already answering.
“Actually, you caught my eye when I first got into school. I don’t know, you stood out. And I couldn’t help but look at you. I’m sorry if it came out wrong. I wanted to talk to you, but I’m trash and couldn’t.”
Armin couldn’t help but think Eren was cute. The boy couldn’t look at him in the face and had a somewhat angry look in his face. So that was his embarrassed face? Armin chuckled. He could feel something was starting and he hoped he wasn’t misinterpreting Eren’s words and actions. He wanted to have some hope; he felt like he could.
“Well, you can talk to me from now on.”