#besties i am on FIRE w these oneshots

[pinkfluffybunnyy]

fairy circles and daisy chains

summary: (Y/N) attempts to comfort Gabi and Falco after Jean's violent outburst towards Reiner. Armin tags along.

(part of the sidelines series, oneshot, canon universe, fairytale elements, fluff & angst)

content warnings: minor medical procedures {examination}, slight descriptions of violence

“Gabi!” Falco cried as he rushed over to his friend.

The exchange had been intense, Jean accidentally kicking Gabi as she jumped in front of her cousin to protect him from Jean’s brutal, raging fists. 

The moment his foot made contact with Gabi’s stomach, he stilled, his eyes clearing of his rage filled frenzy.

“I’m sorry…” Gabi whimpered, tears streaming from her eyes. “We… Our wish… was to slaughter all of you… on Paradis.” She gasped for breaths, head hanging low. “We wanted the world to accept us, to forgive us. That’s why we kept hoping for the devils on this island to go away. And now, my mom, my dad… and everyone on Liberio will be gone because of it. I’m sorry…”

“Gabi, lay down on your back, sweetheart. I just need to make sure you don’t have any internal injuries.” (Y/N) instructed, leading the small child away from the group just a little, for her privacy and dignity. Falco followed, his brows furrowed, concerned for his dear friend and wishing to comfort her.

Gabi obliged (Y/N)’s command, laying down flat on her back.

“Okay darling, I’m gonna lift your shirt up a little bit and press down on your stomach, is that okay?” (Y/N) asked, her voice soft and gentle. Gabi nodded and pulled her shirt up to her ribcage, Falco taking her hand in an attempt to quell her anxieties.

(Y/N) crouched over her and pressed down on the skin of her stomach, earning a hiss from the petite child beneath her. 

“I’m sorry angel, I’ll be as quick as I can, I promise.” (Y/N) pushed down on her stomach with both hands, squeezing feeling around her organs. 

She nodded, “I can’t feel any damage, which is good. I think you’ve just been winded.”  Gabi nodded again and sat up, pulling her shirt down and staring at the grass beneath her. Her eyes were still puffy and skin still blotchy from crying. The sight caused (Y/N)’s heart to contort in pain. She had to think of a distraction, something to try and help the two children feel some form of comfort in this horrible situation they had found themselves in. 

A smile spread across her lips as an idea popped into her head.

“Do you guys know how to make daisy chains?” she asked, placing a gentle hand on the small of Gabi’s back.

“No, what are those?” Falco asked, looking up at (Y/N) with those doe hazel eyes.

“You join lots of daisies together to make rings or bracelets. You can even make necklaces or crowns, if you make them long enough. Would you like me to teach you?” she asked, her eyes soft and kind.

“Yes please.” Falco said, Gabi merely nodding in response.

“Come on.” (Y/N) said, standing up, extending her hands out to the two children sitting in front of her. “I’m pretty sure I saw some daisy patches back over there. We’ll see if we can find some good ones.”

Falco and Gabi stood up, each taking one of her hands. Just as she was about to lead them away, Armin piped up. “Is it okay if I come, too?” he asked meekly, looking up at (Y/N) from where he was sat amongst his allies.

She whipped her head around to look at him, flashing him a bright smile. “Of course!”

As they walked, (Y/N) pointed out different flora to the two children, sharing her knowledge of flowers and plants with them. Armin trailed behind them, listening intently to what she had to say.

“Oh, there’s a great patch over there! Come on.” (Y/N) exclaimed upon seeing a rather large patch of daisies, steering the children in her grasp towards them. Armin stared up at the trees around them, mindlessly following the trio.

(Y/N) let out a loud gasp, letting go of the children’s hands and turning to Armin, one hand grabbing his arm, the other pressing against his chest, stopping him in his tracks. “Don’t step in that!” she exclaimed.

Armin stopped walking and looked down at her in confusion. 

“What?” He looked down below him to see a circle of mushrooms in front of him, his foot hovering over the ring of funga.

“Never step into a fairy circle. It’s really dangerous.” (Y/N) said, looking up at him, her brows furrowed in concern.

“What’s a fairy circle?” Falco asked, curious as ever. (Y/N) crouched down in front of him, that same soft smile on her plush lips. 

“That little circle of mushrooms there,” she said, pointing towards the ring of fungi beside them, “is a fairy circle. You never, ever want to step in one, because they’re portals between this world and the fairy world. And fairies might seem fun and jovial, but they can actually be really sneaky and cunning, so you have to be very careful.”

Falco’s eyes lit up, his mouth slightly agape at the thought of little mythical creatures luring them into their trap.

“Fairies aren’t real!” Gabi scoffed, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms across her chest. “How can you, a grown up, believe in fairies?”

(Y/N) turned towards her, giggling. “Gabi, I don’t believe fairies exist, I know they exist. I’ve seen them myself.”

“You have?!” Falco gasped, his hands flying up to his lips. (Y/N) nodded.

“When I was really little, my grandad had a very large garden that he grew all sorts of flowers and vegetables in. There was a fairy circle right in the centre, and he always warned me never to step into it. One night, I was looking out my bedroom window into the garden, and I saw two little fairies dancing in the circle.” Her eyes lit up at the memory, a bright smile on her lips, pink petals illuminating her cheeks.

“So they are real! I knew it!” Falco exclaimed, turning towards a disgruntled Gabi, his face a painting of sunshine.

Gabi rolled her eyes again and shook her head. “You’re just showing off for Armin, you’ve never seen real fairies.”

(Y/N) chuckled at her comment. She was glad to see Gabi being her sassy little self again.

“You swear that you’ve seen real fairies?!” Falco asked, turning back to (Y/N), his eyes still burning with excitement. (Y/N) placed a hand over her heart. “I swear it.”

(Y/N) and Armin sat beside each other crossed legged on the grass, Falco and Gabi perched in front of them. (Y/N) picked a daisy with a particularly long stem, holding it in front of the duo.

“This daisy is a really good one to make daisy chains with because it has a long stem. That’s what you want to look for.” Taking the daisy between her delicate fingers, she pushed her thumb nail into the stem. “So, you want to use your nail to cut a small opening into the stem, but be careful not to break it.” She picked another daisy, holding her hands out for the children to observe. “Then, you take another daisy, and you push the stem through the hole.” She demonstrated how to do so, connecting the two daisies together. “Then you keep going until you have it at the length you like, and you connect the two ends together to make a daisy chain.”

Falco and Gabi stared in concentration, hunched over to get a better look at the delicate flowers in (Y/N)’s petite hands. “So, you guys go see if you can find some good daisies, and we’ll get started, okay?” She said, the two children running off to another large patch of daisies. She smiled at the sight before turning back to her own daisy chain, adding another to the collection.

“Are you okay?” she asked Armin, not looking up from her flowers.

“Yeah… Are you okay?” he replied, watching her intently as she braided the flora together in her hands.

“Don’t lie, Armin.” she accused, looking up at him, her bright violets meeting his baby blues, “I know when you’re stressed.”

He made a face, looking away, studying the trees that surrounded them. “If you knew the answer, why did you ask?” he quipped, frustration building in him.

She shrugged in response, “I thought you’d be honest with me.”

His face wilted, guilt washing over him. “... I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay.” she replied, finishing up her daisy chain. “Here.” she offered, taking his hand and wrapping the daisy chain around his wrist, securing the two ends together. 

“... Thank you.” he whispered, a blush creeping up his cheeks. (Y/N) simply smiled and nodded in response.

She turned back towards where Gabi and Falco were picking the daisies, arguing over which ones were appropriate to use or not. She smiled watching them, her heart lighting up upon witnessing the remaining innocence of their youth. ‘This is how it should be.’ she thought.

Armin observed her as she watched the two youths before them, drinking in the small moment of serenity that they had been graced with. Even in the midnight darkness, she glowed, illuminating everything around her with a bright warmth. Her gentle aura was sucked in by all the wilting flora and fauna that surrounded them, breathing new life into them, causing the flowers to bloom even in the dead of night. She was ethereal, a goddess in his eyes.

He looked down beside him, searching for a daisy of his own. When he found one, he pulled it from the dirt, breaking the stem off close to the bloom. 

“(Y/N).” he said, turning back to her. She turned to look at him, seeing the delicate flower held between his calloused fingers. Armin leaned forward and opened up the locket that rested on her decolletage, pressing the blossom into the cavity before gently clasping the metal shut. An exchange, a returned gift; a flower in her golden heart, for the same way she caused petals to blossom and bloom in his own. 

She smiled down at the locket, cradling it lightly in her palm. “Thank you…” she whispered.

He returned her smile and paused for a moment before speaking again. “Did you really see real fairies when you were a child?” She laughed and winked at him, tapping her nose. “A lady never shares her secrets.” He chuckled in response. (Y/N) scooted closer to him ever so slightly, leeching off the warmth his body emitted. 

“To be honest, I’m not sure. It could have just been a dream. But I think that’s what the fairies would want me to think.” she offered, a small smirk on her pink lips. He smiled back at her and looked up to the sky, admiring the stars that shone like rhinestones on black satin. Armin’s hand slowly inched towards her, gently grasping it when his skin found hers. She smiled softly, interlocking his fingers with hers and leaning back against the tree behind her, drinking in this small moment of peace. She knew she had to enjoy this moment, because she wasn’t sure how many more she had left in this world. 

So she closed her eyes and breathed it all in, letting it soak into her lungs and imprint on her flesh. A small moment of serenity in a lifetime of anguish, war and suffering.

#besties i am on FIRE w these oneshots #so many ideas floating around my empty head lmao #my writings #armin x y/n #armin x reader #snk #shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #aot #ocean prince #armin arlert #gabi braun #falco grice #jean kirschtien