Chapter Text
“I’m just saying, he’s pretty cute,” Sasha gushed as she pulled off her white blouse.
“Ooooh, look at her blush!” Krista laughed. “You really do like him, don’t you?”
“Connie is the least endowed of all of them,” Mikasa deadpanned. As every girl froze, the clothes she wore were the only things that changed. Her lips never so much as twitched, but her black eyes were shining.
“How would you know?” Sasha fired back.
“Oh my God, Mikasa you looked?” Krista cried, bringing a small hand to her mouth. They all knew that half the time, the stoic girl was snuggled up between her adopted brothers. But never once had any of them thought that she had even glanced at any of their bunk-mates.
“How big is Eren?” Ymir chimed in, stretched out on her bunk with her chin resting in one hand.
Mikasa’s yellow-tinged skin was suddenly burning furiously. “He’s—”
BANG!
The barracks were enveloped in screaming as the door burst open. Sasha flung her open shirt back over her chest, Krista yanked the blanket off her bed so that she couldn’t be seen standing in her underwear, and Mikasa already had the knife from under her pillow in her hand.
“What the fuck, Eren?!” Sasha snarled, and instead of staring at the teenage boy who had barged into the girls’ quarters, they all stared at her. Eren had managed to make always-polite, overly-formal Sasha swear.
“Mikasa, we have to go!” Eren demanded, green eyes never leaving his sister’s even gaze.
“What’s going on?” Krista asked, watching nervously as Mikasa flipped her scarf over her shoulder. The blonde girl went ignored as she and Eren started back out the door.
“Hey!” Ymir called, and the siblings froze. “Mikasa? At least put on some pants.”
After waiting impatiently for Mikasa to slide on her white uniform bottoms, Eren snatched her hand; a move that, after years of knowing her brother, she could respond to on autopilot. He no longer sent her reeling when he tried to drag her behind him.
She didn’t need to bother asking what was going on. Mikasa figured it out instantly and counted down the seconds silently to Eren’s explanation. “Erwin brought Armin to HQ,” he nearly snarled, and Mikasa’s stomach churned as he choked out, “he said we should be thankful that Armin is able to walk.”
“Disgusting,” Mikasa murmured through bared teeth.
“I know,” he growled back.
Eren shoved the heavy wooden door to one of the back entrances open, their boots clattering against the stone floors of the Survey Corps nerve center. “Did the Commander say where?” Mikasa asked quietly as their sprint slowed to a halt. Her brother glanced left and right frantically, trapped in the center of four separate corridors.
“Uh, I think he said—this one!” he suddenly cried, and bolted down a hallway to the left. So far his impulsive directions hadn’t failed him, and they weren’t about to start now. Not when Armin became involved.
Stars glittered mockingly joyful in the infinite black sky through the enormous windows they ran past; the hall only lit by small torches and bright moonlight. A night like this belonged in a romance novel, not this fucked up excuse of a life that had become their reality.
“Why the hell would Erwin just dump Armin like a damn stray?” Eren spat as they continued down the secluded corridor.
“It would look bad if he was admitted to the infirmary after spending time alone with the Commander,” Mikasa replied flatly. Eren had adapted to her personality just as much as she had his; Mikasa may have sounded careless, but he knew she was burning with just as much rage as he was. He didn’t even have to look in her eyes to feel it radiating off her.
Eren’s ears perked like an animal’s as he picked up nearly inaudible crying. He thought he had been sprinting until he realized who he heard. “ARMIN!” Eren and Mikasa cried in unison, darting toward the curled up figure hiding in a small shadow.
The blonde was tucked tightly into himself, squeezing his legs tightly as he buried his face in his knees, shoulders shaking with each shuddering breath. He whimpered at the sound of his friends’ footsteps, and Eren gritted his teeth as he realized Armin thought it was because one of them was Erwin coming back.
“Armin, it’s okay, it’s us,” Mikasa soothed, stooping to one knee beside him.
“M…Mikasa?” Armin rasped, looking up slowly. He didn’t even seem to believe it was them. Because no one ever came to save him. Why would they start now?
“Yes,” she replied, not daring to try to give him any sort of comforting touch. Eren stared at the horrible sadness in Mikasa’s eyes and wanted to roar and wail and hunt Erwin down to strangle that bastard with his own intestines. But Armin. He could barely bring himself to look at the hollow shell on the floor.
That didn’t keep Eren from dropping down beside him. “Armin, I swear to God I won’t ever let anything like that ever happen to you again!” Eren’s promise was a cross between a snarl and a sob. His best friend sniffled but said nothing.
“We’ll make sure there isn’t a next time,” Mikasa added firmly. Once more, she didn’t try to touch him, but Eren reassuringly wrapped his hand around Armin’s own. It was a gamble, but Armin didn’t panic. He only closed his eyes, entire face twisted in shame. He was making his friends worry about him. Again.
Eren finally noticed Armin’s index finger, scarlet liquid flowing from the missing nail. “Fuck, you’re bleeding,” Eren hissed, clutching Armin’s hand tightly in his own. The instant those words slipped through his mouth, his eyes darted downward. His stomach churned as he tried to decide whether the fact he couldn’t see the seat of Armin’s pants was a good thing or not.
“What do you need?” Mikasa asked instantly.
“Iodine swabs, scissors, and gauze,” Eren ordered, pulling off his jacket. She gave him a curt nod and vanished with a swish of her scarf. They both knew Eren couldn’t be half as silent as his sister, and she could easily convince anyone not to report her in case she was somehow caught “borrowing” the medical supplies.
Eren took hold of his jacket sleeve and pushed it down against Armin’s wounded finger. Despite the pressure, Armin didn’t so much as flinch. Taking a deep breath, Eren couldn’t keep his voice from shaking as he swore, “If, if there is a next time, I’ll protect you for sure, even if I have to become a Titan, I’ll do it if it means you—”
“Don’t worry Eren, I like it,” Armin chirped as he flashed a pearly white China doll smile.
“Armin,” Eren gasped in horror, but the blonde only tilted his head, never blinking.
“I like it,” he repeated cheerfully. He slowly brought his hands to his head. “I like it! I like it-I like it-I like it,” he began singing over and over, yanking at his hair as even more tears began streaming down his face. He never stopped grinning.
“Hey, hey, snap out of it, Ar!” Eren cried, shaking him violently by the shoulders. He giggled, the bright blue in his eyes dimmed. They matched his manufactured smile; two glass orbs that could have been stuck in that same doll. This wasn’t Armin.
“I like it!” Before Eren knew it, tears were welling in his own eyes.
“Stop it, Armin,” he whimpered.
But again he piped the same three words. “I like it!”
“Please Armin, stop sayin’ that,” Eren whispered, staring at his best friend in horror. No-wait, was this really his best friend, crying and laughing before him now? “Armin, please! Get ahold of yourself!”
“Haha! I like it-I like it-I-”
SMACK!
Hyperventilating, Eren’s hand remained high in the air after he ripped it across Armin’s face.
Neither boy was moving except for their heaving chests; neither made a sound except for their harsh panting. They simply stared at each other. Eren was just as shocked as Armin. While Armin’s lips were only parted slightly, Eren’s jaw was practically hitting the floor. Did I actually just hit him?!
Armin brought a trembling hand to his cheek, staring at the red fluid from the raised welt that began to bleed. Hurt me…hurt me…he-he wants to hurt me! Armin’s quivering thoughts screamed. Hurt me…hurt me-hurt me-hurt me he’s going to hurt me!
The tortured little blonde spun on a dime, dashing as fast as he possibly could. “Armin, wait!” Eren cried frantically. Armin couldn’t be alone again after everything that happened. “Please, I’m sorry!”
Powerful quads and calves worked together to chase after the crying boy. Eren was superior to his best friend in every physical form—everyone was—and overtook him with such ease it was almost absurd. He wrapped his arms around Armin’s chest from behind, pinning his arms to his sides. “Let go! LET GO!” Armin shrieked, thrashing violently.
“Armin, Armin please calm down! I-I didn’t mean to, I swear!” Eren cried pathetically. As the boy wore himself out, chest heaving and voice dying, Eren whirled him around. “Look—I’m so sorry, please, you gotta believe me!”
The blonde’s blue eyes reflected those of a dead fish. They were glazed over; unfocused; blinded by trauma; all light departed. The brunette was his trigger. It was the last straw; he snapped. “Eren! EREN, help me, PLEASE!” he shrieked, and tears began racing down his best friend’s face.
“No, no, Armin, it’s me! It’s Eren—I’m Eren!” Eren sobbed weakly, green eyes glassy as he shook Armin back and forth. It seemed to be the only thing that ever snapped him back to his senses.
But this time was different. Armin threw his head back and let out heart shattering wails.
“HE WON’T LET-he won’t let-” his voice slowly dropped away, and Armin sunk into another nerve-wracking silence. Eren let go of Armin's shoulders, unsure of what he was waiting for.
Taking several stumbling steps forward, Armin’s head dropped limply against Eren’s chest.
It seemed like hours that they stood together like that; Armin’s hyperventilating calming, his screams melting into quiet sobs, arms hanging limply at his sides as he pressed his forehead against Eren’s green shirt.
Moving slowly to not scare the small blonde, Eren delicately placed his hands around Armin’s back, pulling him into a gentle hug. “You’re right, Armin. Don’t worry; I won’t let go.”