#armin x jean

[aethellren]

JEARMIN DUMPPP I LOVE THEM SMM

[jeanxarminweek]

Hey, jearmin nation!

You asked for it, and you got it: our jearmin fic rec list is finally here!

Small disclosure: this list is by no means exhaustive and contains a small handful of fics in both canon and alternate universes. Only complete works have been included, and we've done our best to include a diverse selection of writers. If we're missing any of your absolute favorites, feel free to suggest them so they can be added!

Lastly, be sure to mind the ratings and the tags.

CANONVERSE

This section will include works that take place in the canon AOT universe. This does include a mix of post canon, canon divergent and canon compliant fics of various ratings and lengths.

love, hate, and the language of violence by pylons

T, oneshot, 21.2k

There is Safety in His Arms by Insomnia_with_dreams

E, oneshot, 2.2k

to see another tomorrow by orphanedaccount

M, oneshot, 6.3k

Obelisk by corbaccio

E, oneshot, 6.3k

Paint Tomorrow Blue by batwake

M, oneshot, 41.9k

Survival by suchakidder

M, oneshot, 4.4k

In For a Penny by fizzydreamer

E, oneshot, 4.2k

For as Long as We Have Left by xajie

E, oneshot 7.5k

Water Will Hold You by onewhodiedyoung

T, oneshot, 1.6k

the knot by orphanedaccount

Not Rated, oneshot, 1.7k

give me your strength (our life is so short) by itspointydumbass

M, oneshot, 1.2k

Torrential by malfxy

E, oneshot, 4.4k

Nightmares by MissErikaCourt

M, oneshot, 5.3k

I'll Be Seeing You by bitchbot3000

M, oneshot, 5k

Nimbostratus by imriel_montreve

E, oneshot, 2k

Stay by jearminbrainrot

E, 2/2, 16k

Worthy of You by bees_n_sunshine

E, 8/8, 34k

The Night Will Keep Our Secret by UntamedValleyOfThePatriarch

T, 4/4, 3.8k

Before / After by LoneSweetPea

M, 17/17, 36.1k

In Moments Between Battles (we find peace) by AceofAliens

Not Rated, 16/16, 27.5k

AU

This section will include works from various alternate universes.

Wicked Inheritance by wordsforjearmin

M, royalty AU, oneshot, 9k

In the Tent by xajie

E, cowboy AU, oneshot, 2k

homeward bound by yeokseobam

G, farmer AU, oneshot, 7k

Growing Pains by little_miss_jearmin

G, modern AU, oneshot, 3k

Duty’s Price by malfxy

E, royalty AU, oneshot, 4k

please take what i can give by likeanoldcardigan

Not Rated, university AU, oneshot, 1k

in shades of red and gold by aster_rain

T, modern AU, oneshot, 11k

Meet Me at Midnight by levicoffee

T, university/serial killers AU, 8/8, 30k

Cowboy Like Me by justalevisimp/levicoffee

M, cowboy AU, 6/6, 52k

No Strings Attached by cinnamonghost

E, modern AU, 26/26, 93k

Copy-Room Romance by fandomette

E, university AU, 19/19, 129k

Different From the Rest by arminloverfae

E, modern AU, 33/33, 126k

Peaches by vidnyia

T, cowboy AU, 10/10, 32k

Rockin’ Your Heart by simpingsuzuki

M, modern AU, 28/28, 229k

Wind in the Sails by vidnyia

T, 1800s/sailor AU, 16/16, 60k

Blood Like Ice by luna_trancy/porgatino

M, detective/criminal AU, 28/28, 87k

Orange Sorbet & Summer Sea Breeze by bees_n_sunshine

E, modern AU, 25/25, 116k

seven years by harrystyleshotpocket

G, university AU, 4/4, 5k

A King and His Knight, Whose Hearts Become One by simpingsuzuki

G, royalty AU, 3/3, 20k

bite the hand that feeds me by likeanoldcardigan

Not rated, modern AU, 11/11, 16k

[taylorlynn-art]

Hard to believe I’m such a shipper yet this is my first time drawing a kiss!

I remember sketching this out after having a drink or two. The line art was so wobbly, but I was surprised how bold and carefree the doodle was. I didn’t get caught up in the details.🍷

Jearmin is such a sweet, solid ship. Jean’s bluntness is softened by Armin’s compassion, while Armin finds protection and support in Jean’s loyalty. 🐴 🐚

I love that they started as one character Isayama split, almost as if they complete each other. 🫶

[gaylilmari]

Jearmin x Blue Flag !!!

I actually have very mixed feelings about the manga o-O I definitely feel like the ending was a tad bit rushed but nonetheless I found these panels cute and drew them as jean and armin ! yipppeeee !!!

[opalofhiseye]

How it feels when I see someone hating on jearmin 💔💔

[jearumin]

zombie jearmin !! badboy!jean x geek!armin !!! FIRST JEARMIN ART POST BY ME WOWOOWOW follow me on tiktok hehe wink wink @kissjearmin...

[desilusionn]

drunk jearmin

happy valentine's day!

[turn-my-hollow-purple]

Assigning My Favorite AOT Ships a Heartbreaking Love Song

cw: none

I have a series I wanna do... like making mini playlists for AOT ships so that might be a longer version of this because picking one song for these ships is so hard... this is not in ranking of how much I ship them all...

Eren and Mikasa: "Dancing with Your Ghost" by Sasha Alex Sloan

Armin and Annie: "Apocalypse" by Cigarettes After Sex

Armin and Jean: "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" by Queen

Levi and Erwin: I will NOT just pick one for them so yeah... "We Have It All" by Pim Stones, "Gilded Lily" by Cults, and "I'm Your Man" by Mitski

Ymir and Historia: "Sailor Song" by Gigi Perez

[anticanonhearts]

happy jearmin week!! @twoboys-onesoul

day 1: stargazing

[punkheichou]

Art by 砂利で転ぶ

Permission to repost was given by the artist.

Please do not repost without permission. Please do not edit or remove the caption. If you can, please support the artist on pixiv/twitter.

[cosmicstrawberrycake]

how 2 talk to girls at parties

a silly jearmin drabble!! also posted on A03 under explodescutely!! :3

armin goes to one of jean's strangely good parties, and gets to know the host a little bit better.

oh, and eren is there too with copious amounts of jäger bomb and other mysterious liquids. surely nothing will go wrong!

inspired by ShinraiFaith’s cosplay skit Survey Corps: How To Throw A Squad Party!! I half recommend watching it, because it kind of feels like a vaguely enjoyable fever dream.

₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊

armin held in his sigh as he took a sip from his drink- there were so many types of liquor in it he didn’t even want to guess how much alcohol it actually contained.

he didn’t even like parties- eren just kept begging him to come so if he got blackout drunk, he had a safe way to get home.

not like armin minded- it was nice to be able to get out of his dorm for a while, and it helped him get used to horrible drinks. he would’ve taken it as a chance to make friends besides eren and mikasa, but he didn’t want to get involved with anyone there.

just for a small example, the group right in front of him; reiner had been in rehab thrice, annie had to be bailed out just a week ago for stealing an entire cake from some campus bakery, and bertholdt- well he didn’t really do anything wrong, but he did smuggle a baby kitten into his dorm (as far as armin knows, none of the teachers are aware yet).

in another corner resided mikasa, ymir, historia, and sasha. none of them had done anything really bad, except ymir, who was charged for hate crimes a few months ago (it was honestly reiner’s fault thinking he’d be able to get away with flirting with historia in the first place).

while armin was surveying the room, he somehow failed to notice the ashy blond boy who had slid up beside him, awkwardly standing there and waiting for a chance to initiate small talk.

“so… how’re you doing, armin?”

at the sound of his voice, the boy whipped around, his annoyingly pretty eyes looking jean over a few times before responding.

“fine, jean. just fine.” armin shrugged, the shock of seeing jean wearing off. “just… getting used to university. chose morning classes, so i’m dealing with the regret of that.”

jean chuckled, trying to seem cool as he took a swig of his drink- probably rootbeer or watered-down whiskey. he sidled a little closer to armin, looking away at another corner.

in that corner resided marco bodt- the vice president of Maria University’s prized debate team. second in the country, according to school records. as jean looked over at him, marco beamed and held two thumbs up.

“so, armin,” jean cleared his throat and turned to face the blond.

armin turned to look at him as well, trying to keep the bitter look off his face. whether it was from jean looking at another boy or the drink he was forced to have, he couldn’t tell.

“If I were an enzyme, I’d be a DNA helicase so I could unzip your genes.”

armin blinked a few times, clearly confused. jean’s words were loading slowly in his head, his cheeks slowly turning pink at the same time. he blinked one more time before responding.

“that’s horrible, jean!” he started laughing, both of the boys blushing now.

jean just stood there awkwardly, smiling half heartedly as armin laughed. one of the only things jean knew about was how nerdy armin was- winning science competitions and mathlete tournaments left and right ever since he was a kid. It showed through the pick up line.

“god, is that how you pick up girls?” armin wiped a tear from his face, a wide grin slapped onto his lips as he looked up at the other boy.

“nah, totally not.” it was. he used pickup lines on every attempt he made. but armin didn’t have to know that.

the two boys stood there for a while longer, jean regaining the confidence to subtly confess to armin once more- without a pickup line, this time.

“hey, jean?” armin got there first. “a new cat cafe opened up downtown, it’s got a bunch of cool snacks and stuff too. would you check it out with me?”

now it was jean’s turn to blush and quietly process what armin had said.

“like… a date?” his fingers were crossed as the awkward silence passed.

“yeah, sure. let’s call it a date then.” armin smiled fondly, nudging jean’s shoulder with his own.

— — — — — — —

It had been 24 hours since jean had last slept.

he was lying on his bland-ass bedspread, thinking. a lot.

It was in eighth grade that jean knew he had a crush on armin. for the past few hours, he’d been trying to narrow down which moment exactly he first fell in love.

the first option was when armin was in an elementary school talent show and solved a rubix cube in a solid 4 minutes and 18 seconds. the same afternoon, they’d sat under a tree for hours, jean asking armin a million questions about how he did it.

the second time it could’ve been was during prom, in junior year. armin had gone alone- eren and mikasa both had a stomach bug- and jean wasn’t able to find a date in time, just deciding to go with connie and sasha. jean had invited armin to join them and they hung out the entire night- the way the lights made armin’s eyes sparkle was almost ethereal.

the third time jean was thinking about was sometime in middle school when he’d joined the photography club. he’d been roaming around the school, looking for something to take a picture of, when he stumbled upon armin in the gardening club’s greenhouse. The way the light had been shining through the windows and onto armin’s hair made jean’s heart stutter tenderly. he groaned out loud just thinking about it.

no matter what, jean knew he was absolutely smitten. which sucked astronomically for him. He wasn’t used to anything remotely romantic, besides pickup lines.

though somehow, courtesy of pure luck, jean had gotten a date with armin. was it slightly embarrassing that the adorable shy boy armin had the balls to ask him on a date before he did.

now all jean had to do was sleep, make himself look half decent, and pray to any god willing to listen to make sure the date wasn’t an absolute disaster. hopefully he wouldn’t miraculously fuck it up somehow!

｡ﾟ•┈꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱┈• ｡ﾟ

gulp epic gamer moment right guys

[jeanxarminweek]

JEARMIN WEEK PROMPTS ARE HERE!

1. Prompts with asterisks represent prompts that won in NSFW categories.

2. We chose one prompt from each category (SFW writing, SFW art, NSFW writing, NSFW art) for each day.

3. You DO NOT have to use prompts in the category that they won. For instance, you DO NOT have to use “titan marks” for art or NSFW only, even though it won in the NSFW art category. You are able to use it for writing, SFW, or whatever other way you wish. Similarly, you are able to use SFW prompts by making them NSFW. Go nuts.

4. You are definitely allowed to combine prompts if you want to! Or, if you’d rather post multiple works on the same day, that’s fine, too.

5. If there are any further questions, feel free to shoot us an ask, a message, a DM on Twitter, or whatever works best for you.

6. Lastly, HAVE FUN! We can’t wait to see what you all come up with. Happy creating! 💚💙

[idiotic-syndic]

acrophobia

Pairing: Jean Kirstein x Armin Arlert

Summary: Inbetween the retaking of Wall Maria and the attack on Marley, Armin had to learn to control his new found abilities, and cope with the consequences. The weight of it all puts strain on his relationship with Jean.

CW: hurt/comfort, some spice but no actual smut, implied mental illness, discussions of death, canon compliant

Word Count: 2,451

It had been a long day for Armin. Well, it had been a long couple of years. Learning to control his new titan form, and such a dangerous form at that, was even harder than he had thought. It was hard for him in a different way than it had been for Eren. Eren had trouble controlling it in the beginning, but once he was in his titan form, fully in control, he was ready. He wasn’t afraid of it.

Armin had decent control of the form immediately, something his fellow scouts counted as a blessing. How lucky he was to have a grasp of such power, to be able to wield it without practice. Destruction at his fingertips.  

If Armin hadn’t already believed he was the wrong choice, he certainly did now. He could remember the first time the Colossal Titan attacked vividly, despite the years that had passed. The terror of that insurmountable power, throwing the world he knew into chaos. What a heavy burden to place on a child. He had begun to understand Bertoldt, and he began to envy Erwin. The commander had already left his humanity behind him, he was able to make those choices and sacrifices. Let Erwin become the god of death who destroys all that stands in the way of his goals. Armin wanted no part of it.

Maybe that wish is more selfish than living.

It had been a long day for Armin. He only ever transformed once in a day, but it was more than enough to wear him out. Even if he could transform again, physically, he was so emotionally drained from seeing the trees set ablaze from his blast, his comrades celebrating his success from far away. Memories from Bertoldt’s time at war flooded into his field of vision. The sounds of horrible screams filled his ears, until he was certain they were real. Had he known the cost of seeing the sea was seeing sights such as these, he would have burned the book he once held close to his chest.

It had been a long day for Armin, and now he sat in his room, reading a book, trying to escape from the reality he had woken up to in Shinganshina. Jean was at his side, drawing portraits of their fallen comrades, eyes heavy with the desire to sleep.

“You don’t have to stay awake for me, you know,” Armin said, not looking up from his novel. He watched Jean in his periphery as he glanced up from his drawing and eyed Armin for a moment, before returning to his work.

“I’ll stay up until you go to sleep,” Jean replied, “Otherwise I’m not sure you will.”  Armin smiled softly and closed his book while turning to face Jean. Jean turned his head, looking down his nose at Armin. His hair was getting longer, touching the collar of his shirt in the back, and there was a shadow of stubble on his chin. He’d only recently decided to grow it out. His eyes were warm and sad.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Armin asked. It was a silly question, really. Jean often wore that expression when the two of them were alone now. Armin had had more than enough breakdowns in front of him to warrant it.

“You uh… You look good today. Like you’re doing better,” Jean said. Armin narrowed his eyes at Jean. There was no way that was true.  

“You’re full of shit, Jeanboy,” Armin teased. He took Jean’s sketch book and graphite and set it on the bedside table. “You’re just trying to seduce me.”  Jean forced an irritated expression, rolling his eyes, but the blush rising on his cheeks betrayed him.

“Well, the nickname killed it,” he said, a little too defensively.

Armin hummed, and he moved to straddle Jean. Armin ran his hands up Jean’s chest and neck, before settling on his face, cupping his jaw and cheek. He moved forward to kiss Jean as Jean settled his hands at Armin’s hips.

Armin remembered their first kiss, just a few days before they left for Shinganshina. How it swept him up, made him forget about the horrors they had faced, and what they still had yet to do. It made Armin forget that he was a murderer, just for a moment, or perhaps it had just made it feel worth it. His mind was too foggy to think in the moment. All he could think of was Jean: his lips and his teeth. His hands and shoulders. His tongue.

Armin’s thoughts had gotten too heavy since then to be silenced by something so simple and sweet. Now his mind only ever went quiet when Jean was inside of him, hot breath against his neck.

 It’s late enough, everyone’s probably asleep, Armin thought, And there’s a new bottle of oil in the drawer.  

Armin began kissing across Jean’s jaw, settling on the spot just below his ear that made Jean’s breath hitch. His hands wandered around Jean’s body, before moving towards the collar of his shirt. He started undoing the buttons-

“Armin,” Jean said, his voice stern and unwavering. Armin pulled away to look at his face. His expression was hard like stone, but his eyes were still soft, concerned.

“What’s wrong?” Armin asked. He tightly controlled every muscle in his face, trying to remain expressionless. Jean saw right through him. “Not tonight,” he said. Armin sighed, his attempt at forgetting everything officially failed. He wrapped his arms around Jeans neck and buried his face in his shoulder. Jean’s hand came up to comb through Armin’s hair, as his thoughts got louder and louder, overwhelming him. Armin felt his eyes sting, tears leaking out despite his efforts to keep them inside.

Please don’t notice. Don’t pity me. I don’t deserve it.

Armin twirled the ring around his finger, modeled after the one Annie had used. Hange had gotten it made for him after the first few months of experiments. Any other method seemed to give Armin too much time to think, too much time to hesitate. He needed something that could outpace his doubts.

Armin slid the ring off his finger and set it on the bedside table, revealing his teary eyes to his boyfriend. He certainly had noticed, as his hand came up to hold Armin’s face, thumb wiping away the tears.

“You need to talk to me about it, whatever’s bothering you,” Jean said, barely above a whisper. He sounded hesitant and nervous. Armin didn’t look up at him. He got off of Jean’s lap and settled at his side, resting his head on Jean’s chest. Jean took Armin’s hand, smoothing the red and shiny skin where the ring had been.

Armin rolled the thoughts around his head for a while, trying to decide what to say. He knew what was bothering him, that wasn’t the issue. He just knew what Jean would say to him, just the same as he did every time they had that conversation.

“I’m a monster,” Armin would say, “I’m a monster and a murderer. I’m manipulative and conniving. I always wanted to be a good person, but I’m not.”

“Don’t say that, it’s not true,” Jean would respond, “You’ll use these powers- this situation you’re in- for good.”

“It should have been the commander.”

“That wasn’t your choice to make.”

At first Jean’s words had been a bit reassuring, but with time the conversation had repeated over and over, and they became harder to believe. Armin’s depression got worse, as did his anger. He was never an angry person, but it was hard not to be now. Jean would try to help, but sometimes it felt forced now. Maybe Jean was irritated that the problem hadn’t been resolved already.  Armin couldn’t blame him for that.

They’d had a fight not too long ago. It was stupid, and entirely Armin’s fault. They usually were. He was having a hard day again, experiments and transformations getting to him. He’d made a comment about something he knew Jean had been trying to ignore.

“Only 11 more years left. Then I can pay for all the horrible things I’ve done and will do,” Armin said absentmindedly. Usually that was a thought he kept on the inside.

“Armin,” Jean said, voice shaky. Armin took a sharp breath, and felt his body start to shake. This time, instead of letting the guilt overtake him, he pushed it away and doubled down. “We can’t change it. I’m going to die, Jean,” he said, “You need to accept that. I have.”

“I’m not going to ‘accept that.’ We don’t know, there might be something-“

“No! We can’t,” Armin spat. Jean’s mouth hung open, but he didn’t say anything. Armin squeezed his fists, nails digging into his palms, “Why don’t you just start mourning me now? Lord knows you need all the time you can get to move on from a dead boyfriend.” Jean scoffed, but Armin looked away.

“Fine,” Jean stated, before leaving the room. Once the door clicked shut, Armin’s guilt sank in, and he crashed onto his bed.

It was too far, bringing up Marco. Pushing Jean away had become second nature, a defense mechanism. It was a few days later that Jean had come to Armin’s door late at night. Armin apologized, Jean forgave him, and that was that.

Now they laid together, silence swelling and pulsing in the room. Armin didn’t want to push Jean away. He didn’t want to repeat the same things he always did just to hear Jean’s same answers that provided little comfort. So, he thought of something new, something they hadn’t discussed before.

“I used to be afraid of heights,” Armin said, “When I was a little kid, at least.” Jean chuckled through his nose.

“Yeah? Doesn’t seem like it when you shoot through the air on ODM gear,” Jean said.

“I try not to look down,” Armin responded, “Think I forced the fear deep down when we started training. It holds me back, sometimes, but… I got better at ignoring it.” Jean hummed, but he waited for Armin to continue. Ignoring fear was common practice in the Survey Corps. You had to be good at it to survive.

“My parents built a hot air balloon once. They wanted to go over the walls, see the world. I didn’t understand why they weren’t scared of falling. They didn’t come back.” Armin said. He knew, now, that it was most likely the interior police, but at the time he believed they must have crashed. It didn’t matter now; they were dead either way.

“Is that what’s bothering you? Your parents?” Jean asked. Armin shook his head. “It’s strange being in titan form. My body is still my body, it still feels like my body. It doesn’t feel like I am really becoming a titan, just that I’m controlling it. I’m not sure it’s like that for everyone. I just know I still feel small, even when I know I’m not.

“When I look down, and see how far up I am, higher than the trees and the walls and everything that I’ve ever considered to be tall, I get that feeling in my stomach. Where it just drops, and it feels like I’m falling. It’s stupid, because I can feel the ground beneath me. I know that I’m not falling.”

“It’s not stupid, it makes sense,” Jean said, squeezing Armin closer to his chest. Armin leaned his face in and inhaled. Jean’s smell was comforting, his sweat and obnoxious cologne. If it were anyone else Armin would probably hate it, too overpowering.  He didn’t mind it on Jean, though.

“I think I’m afraid of myself,” Armin admitted, before rolling to lay on his stomach and look up at Jean, “I know you don’t think I’m a monster. Maybe I’m not, but I can turn into one. I’m not a serial killer, but I have the capacity to kill. I try to use honesty and diplomacy, but I don’t hesitate to manipulate to get my way.”

“That isn’t who you are, though. Armin, you’re a good-“

“What if it is?”

“What?”

“What if… What if I am a monster? You wake up one day and realize that it’s a part of me you can’t ignore anymore. Would you still want to be with me? Or would you be afraid?” Armin asked. Jean’s eyebrows knit close together as he pieced together a response, and Armin searched his eyes, hoping to find the answer inside of them.

“I think… Okay, to be clear I don’t think you’re a monster,” Jean said a little too quickly. Armin raised a brow.

“Sure.”

“But… I already know that some of these things are a part of you. I’m not trying to pretend they aren’t there. I just think they’re more like tools that you use. So… It’s not like I’m gonna wake up and realize that you’ve killed people and manipulated people. I mean, Armin, I’ve killed people.”

“Yeah, but-“

“I already know all these things about you. I love you anyway.”

“Then why do you always jump to tell me that’s not who I am?”

“Because it’s all you see!” Jean said, frustration lacing his tone. Armin tensed up, clinging to Jean’s shirt, and Jean sighed, before continuing “I don’t want you to hate yourself, but I don’t know how to help you.”

“Well, despite the impression I’m probably giving off, you’re not doing a bad job right now,” Armin responded. Jean took a deep breath, in through his nose and out through his mouth.

“Thanks,” he said, “For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t be here if I thought you were anything less than a good person, at your core. I think you just have a lot more to bear than most.”

“I know,” Armin responded, chewing the side of his cheek.

“And I think you’re… what we need right now. Someone daring or whatever, but not… without hesitation.”

“What do you mean by that?” Jean thought for a moment.

“I think the fact that you’re afraid of being a monster is proof enough that you’re not. You don’t want to make unnecessary sacrifices.”

The two of them sat quietly for a moment, until Armin got up to put out the oil lamp. The two of them got into bed together, still with Jean on his back, Armin resting on his chest.

“I love you too, Jean,” Armin said after a while, but there was no answer. Armin shut his eyes and tried to quiet his mind, but he didn’t join Jean in sleep until the sun began peaking over the horizon, warming the night sky.

[sarcaphenia]

Au Premier Regard. (Unfinished, sorry !)

Shingeki no Kyojin

[crisalidaseason]

some post war jearmin? your writing is lovely btw

A JEARMIN ASKKKKK AAAAAAAAAAA

Okay, I am contained in my enclosure again. Let's do this. Also, sorry for the delay, I was almost dying and thank you so much for the compliment, it means a lot to me

Honey Patches

Summary: Post war Jearmin fluff

Content warning: bitttersweet, armin is tired, jean is tired, fluff, a bit angsty, very VERY implied suggestive content, like one sentence, but still mdni

Eldia, Mitras district

It was one of the bad days. Not a really bad one, just regular bad. The type of day the previous commander of the survey corps was used to.

"Fuck this" Armin whispered, visibly frustrated that his coat tore open in another spot. That old piece of fabric was giving up on him.

"Here" a deep voice broke the morning silence.

Armin felt the heavyness of Jean's coat over his shoulders, sending the other man a silent thanks.

"I'll try to fix it once we rest for the night"

Armin nodded, a little absent minded, wearing the other man's coat with the usual hurry. It seemed he was always late these days, always in need somewhere. A meeting, a conference, a 'quick' talk, reports, resolutions and negotiation drafts. Armin was always being requested.

"See you later" Jean's voice echoed again.

Armin paused. He did it again. He was almost out the door.

"See you" he said, a warm trained smile on his lips.

He left without looking at Jean's expression. He avoided the taller man's eyes in the early morning, not being able to resist the urge to just cave and fall on his knees in tears.

Armin was exhausted.

Walking towards the meeting room was always the worst minutes of his morning, his empty stomach complaining that the anxiety was already knocking on the door. Everyday he wondered why he was still there, why he endured all of this. He contemplated running away every single minute until he reached the meeting room.

He wanted to go home. To the small little home he purchased with so much difficulty, his little cottage in a small town he randomly pointed at on a map.

"Mister Arlert" the old man greeted him, the usual scorn in his tone "Took you long enough"

It was indeed a...

"Bad day?" Jean's voice blessed Armin's ears that evening.

The blonde laid against his bedroom's door, tired despite being released earlier than expected. Jean was still in uniform, indicating he probably had just arrived. The other blonde had quite a messy hair that night, most likely a result of horse riding.

"How was your day?" he asked Jean.

Armin wishes he could go on more field missions. He felt so suffocated inside meeting rooms, lonely in the presence of paper and ink.

"Nothing special, just some infrastructure evaluation back in Karanes district" the other man said while discarding his uniform coat.

Jean was still relatively in shape, although he had lost a bit of weight due to a sickness. Armin had to remind him to take it easy. The blonde looked down at his own frame, he had not changed much on the outside, he was always very difficult to change physically. Mentally it was another story.

"You're showering?"

"You want to go first?" Jean offered "I can wait"

He did not want to, all Armin wanted was to drop dead on the uncomfortable bed and wake up in his home. At the same time, Jean took ages to leave the bathroom.

"Yeah, I'll be quick"

Armin - who was leaning on the door - moved a bit too quickly for his mind to catch up, the world soon turning into a spiral. He felt Jean's hand on his upper arms, gripping him firmly.

"Hey, are you alright?"

He wondered if the sickness Jean caught was finally flaring, he did not have a titan's immune system anymore. His head was still stinging in sharp pain, his eyes colored in dark spots. The soft sheet of the bed was the only thing the blonde registered for a while, and he immediatly indulged in it.

"A shower can wait" Jean's voice was muffled on Armin's ears.

The last thing the blond could remember before succumbing to exhaustion was Jean's soft lips on the forehead. In the first hours of the morning, there was nothing but darkness and the faint breathing of jean's sleeping form. Armin looked around disoriented, trying to gain a sense of why he was still in uniform.

"Shit" he whispered into the cold night.

A shower was very much needed and he tried his hardest not to flinch at the extremely cold water. While washing his hair, Armin wondered if Jean locked the door, the last thing he wanted was for anyone to find out that the taller man did not sleep in his room at night. He had enough problems on that island.

As Armin left the shower, shivering, he noticed his coat was hanging on a chair. The visible hole from the morning had been fixed. The blonde touched the fabric, the patch was noticeable but sturdy enough. He wondered if Jean fixed it while he was in deep sleep, feeling bad for it. Jean did not need to do it after a tiring day of work, but he did anyway.

Dressing was quick and soon the blonde was under the covers again. Jean had his back turned, his front almost glued to the wall. Jean had a strange but amusing habit of sleeping facing a wall, his arms crossed and knees bent. The blonde smiled at the sight and laid beside his boyfriend, warming his cold body on his.

Jean groaned something.

"Go to sleep, Jean" Armin muttered.

"Cold" he complained, trying to get away from Armin's freezing form.

Armin smiled and hugged Jean's waist even closer, rubbing his own feet on the other man's legs.

"Why are you like this?"

Despite his words, Jean let Armin snuggle even more, enduring the cold sensation until the other man had warmed enough.

"I can't wait to go home" Jean whispered "Our bed is bigger"

Armin chuckled softly.

"I miss the bathroom. It had space for two"

Jean pinched Armin's arm as an answer, later taking his hand and laying a soft kiss on the, now warm, knuckles.

"Just a few more weeks, then we'll be home"

Armin nodded, kissing Jean's shoulder.

"Good night"

"Night"