science, i say! science again! // hanji and armin

"Ma'am?"


It would be incredibly rude to laugh at the poor boy- Arm... Armond? Armmon? Almonds? I need to get more almonds. I'm all out. He's only trying to be respectful and address a superior with a denotative title. Ma'am, though. I've never been ma'am in my life, save when others mistake it as such. Same goes for sir.


It's so fun to watch them squirm.


I wave my hand a bit dismissively, pushing my glasses up onto the top of my head and rubbing at the bridge of my nose. "Is it urgent? It's science!" I exclaim, lips tilting upwards as I turn and head out of the room. I manage to bang my shoulder into the door frame, stumbling sideways a bit haphazardly before continuing down the hallway.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. I'm only a little bit blind. It's entirely alright," I ensure, bobbing my head quickly as I turn to flash a grin at Arm behind me. A body collides with mine, our shoulders crashing before throwing the other person off balance. I wince, turning to help the poor girl to her feel as she bows her head and apologizes, a quick 'sorry ma'am' before she's scurrying off.


I stand for a moment, hand outstretched in the direction the girl disappeared and nose scrunched up in confusion. My glasses slip back into place, precariously close to the edge of my nose before I push them up again and turn back to Arm.


"Really, it's entirely normal, Arm. Just ask any of your superiors. Now, how are your missions going? I haven't been able to join you all. You see, I was doing an experiment with some Combustiphants, and well, one thing led to another and you know how it goes... Anyway, your missions. Please. All I've gotten are vague reports. How did the Macromantulas go? And how is everyone?"

My mouth pops open, eyes widening as I keep my eyes trained on Arm for a moment. What a shame. Those Macromantulas weren't supposed to be a problem. I was supposed to go and help with that mission, but the stupid experiment when haywire and the burns took a fair amount of time to heal and the admiralty was having no arguments on putting me back on duty quicker. Maybe if I had just been there...


"That's a shame to hear," I murmur, turning my head to the front again and leveling my features. My footsteps slow a little, allowing for a more relaxed pace instead of the train bound for hell I had been conducting.


"I'm sorry I could not be of more service to you all, especially Bodt... I should go and visit him, see if there's anything I can do to help," I continue, voice dropping off as I begin to talk to myself more than my companion.

Where are we going? That's a very good question. I had originally intended to grab Arm to go over to the live testing sites, maybe observe some of the larger muttations in the habitats designed for them, but that feels wrong now, knowing what the squad went through recently.

"Actually, I'd like to show you something, if that's okay, Arm. Not an experiment. I think you'll appreciate it nonetheless. Many of the others would not, but I have a feeling you'll like it."


I give a small smile and jerk my head to the left, turning down a side corridor and doubling back towards the quarters for some of the higher ranking members of the branch. My own door is nestled somewhat closer to the end of the shoot-off hall. Without another word, I open the door and usher Arm inside, locking it behind us and going to stand by the closet.


When I turn to face him, I can feel the near-manic smile on my face. 


"Arm, meet Bean and Sonny!" I cry, opening the closet door and gesturing at the pile of old sweaters on the floor.

The smile on my face drops when I look down, the sweaters not moving an inch. Little buggers. They're always so needy for affection, but when I actually bring them another person, they don't even introduce themselves properly. I turn back to Arm, holding up a finger and muttering a quick apology before crouching down and climbing into the closet to feel around through the fabric.


It isn't that big of a closet, so they have to be here, unless they got out? I gasp at the thought, pushing myself backwards out of the closet and reel towards the door. The door wasn't locked when I left to go meet with the admiralty, and if the door wasn't locked, they could have gotten into all sorts of nonsense. They could have-


"Cooooooo!"


I spin so quickly I'm sure to have given myself whiplash as I hurl myself back towards the closet. There, wrapped in a dark wool sweater, are Bean and Sonny. Bean is a little taller and thinner, tiny mouth opened to coo again as it bounces in the sweater. I grin, pulling at the material and lifting the little ones out to cradle in my arms and turn back to Arm.


"These two are Sonny and Bean. Not the sweaters, though they love to sleep in them."