Hearts of Gold

"You don't have to do this you know."

"But I do, you know I do."

"Why does it always have to be you?"

"I helped develop the plan, I have to be there. I'm in just as much danger as the next person, you know that."

"No...it's different, they make you do way too much."

"You shouldn't talk like that, I signed up for-"

"It's for him isn't it? It's always for him."

"Please...please don't."

"Well what about me, huh? Do I not matter to you? Don't you know that if you die then I die too... that I have nothing to live for? Don't you get it? Don't you know what you do to me?"

"Please stop."

"No, do you know what-"

"Viviette."

"Don't interrupt me."

"Viviette."

"Viviette!"

The ten year old shot up into a sitting position, whipping her head around to identify the source of the voice that had disrupted her nap. Her eyes landed on her older brother Walter, sharp blue eyes stared into glazed blue ones. She swung her legs around and pressed her feet against the cool wooden floors, the temperature sending a shiver up her spine, the sensation helping rouse her from her state of sleep induced confusion.

"What do you want?" she asked quietly.

"It's time for your lessons." he replied.

"Oh."

"You've got one minute before I leave."

He spun on his heel and left, leaving her alone. A loud yawn spilled from her mouth as she lifted her arms high above her head and stretched like a cat. When she felt more awake, Viviette hopped up onto her feet and made her way towards the front door. She stepped into her worn boots, wiggling her toes as she always did, and slipped her bag over her shoulder. Viviette exited the house with Walter right behind her and together they began the short trek through Shiganshina to her lessons. Walter made his way in front and she didn't make an effort to regain her spot, knowing it would only irritate him. Walter had never been too fond of her. She always told herself it was because of their five year age difference, he just didn't want to have to deal with his kid sister. But she was only kidding herself, she knew why he didn't like her. It was because of her he had to give up his dream to join the military. With their mother and older brother Leren in the Survey Corps and their father always cooped up in his study working, someone had to be there to take care of her and so the duty fell onto Walter's shoulders. He'd wanted to join the military like their mother and brother. Because of Viviette, he never got the opportunity to enlist and as a result, he'd always turned a cold shoulder towards her.

A loud ruckus shook her from her thoughts and she peeked down an alley to see three older boys circled around something. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but she assumed by their rowdy cheers that something exciting was happening. She tugged on Walter's sleeve.

"What's going on down there?" She pointed in the boys' direction.

He squinted down the alley. "Just a couple of bullies picking on some kid, it's none of our business."

"Well shouldn't we help?"

"You're just a girl, you aren't going to be able to do anything. But by all means be my guest, why don't we see what some bullies are going to do to a little girl." taunted Walter.

Heat flooded her cheeks as she flushed with embarrassment. Viviette looked away from the scene and marched off. Walter laughed before retaking his spot as the leader. A pit began to form in her stomach the further they got from the fight, it wasn't sitting right with her that they'd simply left. She felt like a bully herself for just walking away, but as much as she hated to admit it, Walter was right. What was a scrawny ten year old girl going to do? With a huff, Viviette diverted her attention to the gigantic wall that was Wall Maria. She often found herself day dreaming about life outside the walls, surely there was more out there. Perhaps there were places where there were no titans, where people were free to explore. Sometimes she thought she resented the walls for keeping them cooped up, but she knew it was a foolish and irrational thought. If it weren't for the walls, no one would be safe from the horrors out there. Only the most courageous ventured outside Wall Maria. A smile pulled at her lips as pride replaced the guilt she had felt earlier.

"Can you believe mom and Leren go out there? They're so brave." she gushed.

"I guess." Walter shrugged.

It wasn't long until she was on the doorstep of the Jaeger household. Walter reached over her head and knocked.

"I'm going to Mia's house, I'll be back later to pick you up." he said.

Before she could get out another word, he was already walking away. Walter typically went to his girlfriend Mia's house while she was at lessons. Vivette let out a sigh and gripped the strap of her bag while rocking back and forth on her heels. The door swung open and a disheveled woman looked at her. Carla Jaeger smiled and stepped back so she could enter.

"Hello Vivette," she wrung her hands out on her apron and shut the door behind her, "I'm sorry I don't have any snacks prepared. I honestly forgot you were coming today, Grisha didn't mention it at breakfast."

"No it's okay, you don't have to apologize Mrs. Jaeger."

"Sweetheart, you can call me Carla you know."

The ten year old followed Carla into the kitchen and took a seat at the table, letting her bag slip off her shoulder and onto the floor by her feet.

"Let me go grab Grisha for you, he's in the basement doing God knows what." she explained before leaving to retrieve her husband.

VIvette had been coming to the Jaeger house for lessons in all things healing for two years and despite the challenging material, it was something she looked forward to every week. The women in her family had always been involved with medicine in some shape or form and it would be no different for her. She planned to follow in her mother's foot steps and join the Survey Corps. She would use her medical knowledge on the front lines and save as many lives as she could, at least that was her plan. She'd been very fortunate to have Grisha Jaeger take her under his wing as a student. He was the great doctor who had saved hundreds of lives when the deadly plague came through the land and while Vivette wasn't alive for it, she'd heard the stories of Dr. Jaeger's life changing work and admired him all the same. She enjoyed the company of the other Jaeger family members as well. Carla had become a mother figure to her, filling the void her own mother had left. She didn't see much of her mother, she was either out on missions with the Survey Corps or tending to the wounded soldiers who were lucky enough to return alive. It was a rare treat to catch her mother at home. Vivette appreciated getting to come over to the Jaeger house and talking about her week to someone who genuinely cared about her well being. She honestly didn't see much of their son Eren and adopted daughter Mikasa, they weren't around when she was. They were all the same age save a few months. She'd seen them in passing and they'd all exchange small pleasantries, sometimes she'd catch them outside of the house with their blond companion Armin, but they never really played together. They were nice enough to her when she did see them though.

"Vivette good to see you again," Grisha greeted, "I honestly forgot you were coming today."

Carla rolled her eyes. "I wish you'd told me Viviette was coming today, I would have made something to eat, it's hard to learn on an empty stomach."

"It's okay, I ate at home." Viviette said.

She picked her bag up off the floor and dumped its contents onto the table. Grisha chuckled as she arranged her notebooks and writing utensils.

"I see you're more than ready today," he noted, taking a seat across from her with his medical bag in hand, "we're going over basic injuries today."

Viviette sat up straight as an arrow as Grisha started the lesson, her left hand flying across the pages of her notebook taking down notes. He'd have to slow down every once in awhile to let her writing catch up with his words. When he finished covering the basics, he moved on to application. He had her kick off her boots and using her foot, demonstrated how to properly wrap a sprained ankle to compress the injury. Her eyes were glued to his hands as he wrapped her ankle, taking in the way he moved and the technique he used to keep the bandage taut against her 'injury'. She learned better by practice than by words, but she knew she would always need to take notes during every single lesson. Especially when they were dealing with illnesses and their various cures. Viviette always struggled with those lessons in particular, it was difficult for her to comprehend something she was not able to see or touch. She only had her notes and Dr. Jaeger's words to go off of. She couldn't wait until she was old enough to accompany him on house calls so she could gain more experience with medicine. Simple injuries like her fake ankle sprain were a piece of cake. She got to watch him work and she practiced to her heart's content when she was at home. Despite her struggles with the medicinal part of healing, Grisha always commended Viviette for her hard work and determination. He impressed someone as young as her was so interested in the art of healing. Grisha was unwrapping her ankle when Carla joined them at the table with a plate of small sandwiches.

"I know you said you weren't hungry, but a little brain food every now and then doesn't hurt." she winked in Vivette's direction.

As if on cue, her stomach emitted a low growl and she found herself beet red from embarrassment a second time that day.

"Thank you…" she mumbled as she bashfully reached for a sandwich.

She started flipping through her notes while she ate, taking the opportunity to review the things she'd learned so far. They'd gone through a fair amount of information from treating sprained ankles to dislocated shoulders. She wanted to make sure she knew it forwards and backwards before moving on to anything else.

"You work way too hard Vivette," Carla commented, "don't you ever take a break? It's not good for a kid to spend all their time studying. Maybe you can play with Eren and Mikasa some time."

"Oh don't pester her Carla, I think what she's doing is very commendable for a child her age."

"Thank you, I want to learn as much as I can before I turn thirteen." she admitted around a bite of her sandwich.

"And why is that?" asked Carla.

"I want to join the Survey Corps as soon as possible."

The smile on Carla's face vanished after hearing Vivette's admission. She laced her fingers together and eyed the small girl seated across from her.

"That's an interesting dream for a ten year old to have, what makes you want to join the Survey Corps?" she questioned, pacing her words slowly.

"Because my mom and brother are in it, I feel like I should be in it too."

"I'm not sure that's a very good reason, it's a very dangerous job Viviette. Especially because you want to join while you're still so young. You could always wait a few years before enlisting." Carla said.

"I know, but it's what I really want to do. My mom and brother are really good at it so I know I'd be good at it too. Whenever they're home, sometimes I'll sneak downstairs so I can hear them tell my dad about all of the things they've seen. I want to leave the walls when I'm older, I want to see the whole world." Viviette declared.

"Don't you want to stay here where it's safe?" she questioned, "I'm sure you will be a very talented doctor from here."

"Dr. Jaeger is such a good doctor, he doesn't need my help here. I want to be out there so I can help more and more soldiers come home, that's why I need to learn as much as I can before then." she admitted.

Carla was getting ready to continue her protest when her husband gave her knee a light squeeze. From the corner of her eye, she could see Grisha shooting her a sharp look with a slight shake of his head. She held back her disapproval.

"I think what you are doing is very noble," he started, "and I will do my best to teach you as much as I can."

Viviette grinned. "Thank you so much, you're one of the nicest people I know. Thank you for taking me as a student."

"You're a sweet girl, now why don't we get back to-"

A loud bang shot through the house followed by noisy footsteps coming towards them. Eren burst into the room looking quite disheveled. His hair stuck up in every direction, a few small tears decorated his shirt and trousers, and a small trail of blood had dried under his nose.

"Eren!" Carla cried, "What happened?"

She flew out of her seat and was by Eren's side in an instant. Carla grabbed his chin and turned his head from side to side, inspecting the damage. Annoyed, Eren shook out of his mother's grasp.

"Mom not right now," he whined, "I need help."

Grisha stood and walked to his son. "What happened?"

"Some stupid idiots cornered Armin and ganged up on him, me and Mikasa saw him so we went to help but they'd already beat him up pretty bad. Come on dad, you've got to help him." Eren explained, grabbing his dad's hand and pulling him towards the front of the house.

"Where is he now?" Grisha asked.

"Sitting on the steps outside." Eren answered.

"You and Mikasa bring him in and sit him on the couch, I'll be there in a moment." Grisha instructed.

Eren shot out of the room, yelling for Mikasa to help him.

"That poor boy," Carla began, "he is always getting picked on."

"I'm sure it's nothing serious if they were able to walk here," he looked to the girl still seated at the table, "why don't you help me with this one Viviette."

"M-me? Am I ready? I don't know-" she sputtered on her words until Grisha cut her off.

"You'll do fine, bring my medical bag into the sitting area."

Grabbing his bag from the table, Viviette trailed after him into the living room. Eren and Mikasa were sitting Armin on the couch when they entered. She gasped at the sight of him. His left eye had swollen and taken on an angry shade of red, his cheek sporting a similar color. His clothes were just as torn as Eren's, if not more, and splotches of scarlet stained his blue sweater. One of his shoes was off and his ankle had swollen up as well. She could see the tears that rimmed his bright blue eyes and she could hardly imagine how he was feeling. Grisha knelt in front of him and inspected Armin while Viviette watched over his shoulder.

"Viviette, have Carla help you make an ice pack please."

"Of course." she quipped and scurried back to the kitchen.

Carla was there waiting, worry etched into her features.

"Can you help me make an ice pack?" she asked.

Viviette collected ice from their ice bin while Carla fetched a rag for her. With her materials, she quickly wrapped the ice up in the rag and secured it with a spare piece of string. Cradling her ice pack like she would a precious tiara, she delivered it to Grisha who passed it along to Armin.

"Hold it to your cheek Armin."

"O-okay." he whimpered, wincing when the cold ice touched his skin.

"Now Armin, would you be comfortable with Viviette wrapping your ankle?" Grisha asked in a soft voice.

"What? No way, I bet she's never done it before. She's just gonna break it." Eren protested, earning a small shove from Mikasa.

"You don't know that." she countered.

"I...I suppose that would be okay." Armin answered.

Grisha looked over his shoulder to a stunned Viviette. "Do you remember how I showed you?"

"I-I haven't had a chance to practice yet, I don't know if I can do it." she said quietly.

"Well then here's your chance."

He moved from his spot in front of Armin and had Viviette take his place, pressing a roll of bandages into her trembling hands. She tipped her head back to look at him, searching for something to tell her not to do it, but he simply nodded. It was all the confirmation she needed. She unrolled the bandage and turned back to Armin.

"I...I'm sorry if I hurt you."

She took a deep breath and pressed the end of the bandage against the ball of his foot, slowly wrapping his injury in the figure eight motion she'd seem demonstrated earlier. Her stomach felt like a jumbled mess, she could practically feel Eren against her back as he watched from over her shoulder. If she messed up, he'd never let her live it down. Carefully she continued wrapping Armin's ankle until it as well as his foot were covered. When she reached the end of the badage, she fastened it with two small metal prongs and looked down at her handy work. There weren't any lumps in the bandage and his toes weren't turning white, but she'd have to have it inspected before being absolutely sure. She caught Armin's gaze and offered him a soft smile.

"Did I make it too tight?" she asked.

Armin shook his head. "No, it's fine."

Viviette moved from her spot so Grisha could check for any flaws, but the only problem he found was in her prong placement which he quickly corrected. A blend of pride and excitement welled in her stomach, she had to stop herself from jumping up and down. She'd done it, she had her first patient and successfully helped them. If this was the feeling she'd get from healing people, she never wanted to stop. A hand fell on her shoulder and she looked up at Grisha.

"You did a good job Viviette." he praised.

She couldn't hold back her grin.

"I was really scared, I thought I was going to mess up but I didn't. I did it!" she cried.

He ruffled her mop of brown curls before picking up his bag. "That you did. And I think this is a good place for us to stop today."

He returned to the kitchen leaving the four kids alone.

"That was pretty cool, I didn't think you were going to do it right." Eren admitted, giving her a congratulatory slap on the back.

She winced. "Uh, thanks."

"Thanks for helping me Viviette, that was really nice. You didn't have to..." Armin said sheepishly.

She quickly shook her head. "You're the one I should be thanking, you let me wrap your ankle without knowing if I could even do it. I could have messed up and hurt you, you're pretty brave Armin."

He flushed. "Thanks I guess."

"We were going to play a game of cards, would you like to join us?" Mikasa offered.

"I'd like that."

The four kids gathered around and spent the rest of the afternoon playing card games until Viviette was picked up by her brother. She knew he didn't have any interest in hearing about her day, but that didn't stop her from giving him a play by play of everything she'd done. When she returned home, she flew up to her bedroom and flopped onto her bed belly first, clutching her bag tight against her chest. Her mind was racing, so much had happened to her in a small span of time. It was overwhelming; in a good way, and she wanted to collect her thoughts. One thought stuck out to her though.

"I'm going to be the best medic the Survey Corps has ever seen."

So welcome to Hearts of Gold. Armin is one of my favorite characters and this is a fic I've been playing around with for awhile, so I decided to go ahead and post it. Please excuse any grammatical errors, I did my best editing but there's only so much I can do. If anyone would like to beta, I'd greatly appreciate hearing from you. This starts before the first Colossal Titan attack, we'll get there soon though. Thanks and I'd really like hearing from you guys. And I have posted this under the Attack on Titan category as well as the Shingeki no Kyojin category seeing as they're the same thing, they'll both be simultaneously updated. I only own Viviette and her family.