Small pale hands slid comfortingly through Eren's hair. Armin had been holding him for some five or ten minutes as Eren shook, grasping onto the blonde's shirt tightly and making sure he wasn't going to leave. Even though it'd been years, the brunette still had the shockingly vivid nightmares and he would wake up panting, crying, cursing the giants that took his mother's life. It was only Armin that could calm him down each time. He had what seemed to be a magic touch, it would slow Eren's breathing and soothe him back to sleep with how warm and soft it was; just like he remembered. Except, everything else was different from back then- Armin wasn't hugging Eren because, as much as he refused to admit it, he had stubbed his toe or scraped his knee- he was hugging him in the dead of night around their sleeping comrades as Eren dealt with his undeniable trauma. But somehow, every time, the way Armin whispered that it's okay, that he's still there, and the way he put his dainty hands on Eren's tanned cheeks always made him calm down even just a little. Being the light sleeper that he was, Armin would hear Eren gasp as he woke and sat up straight.. He would hear the muffled sobbing and carefully get out of his bed, climb the ladder to Eren's part of the bunk and fall asleep with him.

The taller of the two reached up and rubbed his wet eyes with his hand, holding onto Armin's hand tightly enough for his knuckles to nearly go white with his other. Blue eyes looked at Eren with concern, and the blonde tentatively asked in a whisper, "Eren.. 'You a little better?.."

He immediately nodded. Even if he wasn't, he had to make Armin think he was okay. There was no way he was going to sit by and feel sorry for himself, worrying and stressing out Armin in the process. Armin was too precious for that, he deserved to be happy and not worry all the time like he always did. He swallowed hardly, "..Yeah.. Sorry about that, Armin.."

A warm, kind smile made its way onto Armin's pink lips as he gently rubbed the side of Eren's arm. "Hey, don't apologize.." His voice was soft. Eren could fall asleep listening to it, which was something he actually liked doing. He also liked holding onto Armin's small body as they slept, soothing each other with their heat and caressing each other in a calming way. That was Eren's heaven in the hell he was living.

"Armin-.." The brunette quickly spoke when he felt his friend's arms start to pull away; Armin was going to return to his bunk it seemed, but Eren needed him. He needed him close at all times, when he felt vulnerable like this.

The blonde could tell exactly what Eren needed. After a second he gave a little nod, lacing his fingers with Eren's once more as he took his other hand off of the edge of the ladder. Eren's arm wrapped around him. The two laid on their sides, facing each other with their eyes locked together, feeling completely at home in each other's grasp. Even though they laid on a relatively hard lumpy cot with a makeshift pillow and thin blankets barely protecting them from the cold, they felt comfortable. It was perfect.

"Goodnight.." Armin whispered, eyes already starting to drift closed and nose just barely touching Eren's. He leaned in the rest of the way, tilted his head slightly, and briefly pressed his soft lips against Eren's in a chaste kiss.

They always did this, whenever they got the chance. It was a goodnight kiss; something Eren had introduced when they were just kids. It was just a little peck on the lips between best friends to bid goodnight, but as they got older they started to press up against each other more and hold it longer, for a reason neither one of them were very sure of. It felt right to them, to say the least. Their goodnight kisses ranged from the quick contact as they were getting into their beds at night to more grabby, intense matters, that happened even less frequently than any other simply because they were either tired, didn't have the time, or got nervous. Every so often when Eren was feeling particularly emotional, lips would part, tongues would start to poke out, and it usually just made him question his sexuality. It didn't happen often, though, and only started when Eren's hormones and angst rode on the same wavelength.

That night happened to be one of those times despite Eren having calmed down quite a bit.

Although it wasn't a particularly frequent occurrence, each time it made Eren's heart flutter. Well, to be honest, nearly every time he saw his blonde friend he would fall in love all over again.. Even though at that point, they were just friends. Best friends. Best friends that were really pushing the boundaries of friendship because they loved each other so much.

Their lips moved in sync, fingers laced together and eyes closed; Armin's heart beat faster. He loved these moments with Eren. He lived for these moments with Eren.

After a minute or two of intimate kisses and cuddles, Armin and Eren smiled at each other in the dark.

"C'mon," Armin muttered against his best friend's shoulder, eyes starting to shut, "let's get some sleep…"