Disclaimer: I do not own Snk or Attack on Titan or any of the characters or themes related to it... this is FANfiction.
AN: Listen to ''Light'' by Sleeping at Last, it'll make any day better. Enjoy!
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Pillow Talk
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"A-Armin..."
Those were the first words out of Eren's mouth when he woke up after his last experiment with Squad Leader Hanji.
He was lying in the hospital wing of the Scouting Legion Headquarters, but he was the only resident there. The rest of the beds were empty and it was definitely a good sign to the young man.
Only... he felt something was off.
As if called, Armin walked into the ward not a moment later, a stack of books in his arms.
"Armin!" Eren called out.
The young blond tripped over his feet and winced when he stopped the books from toppling out of his arms with his hands.
"Armin?" Eren called out once more, he swung his legs off the bed and prepared to stand, "Are you okay?"
With a pained expression Armin walked up to the nightstand and dropped the books unto it before stepping away. He flashed a moment later, although it was obvious he was still in pain. He gave a sort laugh and said, "Oh, yeah, I just... injured my hands a bit..."
"What?" Eren asked and titled his head. He shifted a bit and patted the space next to him on the bed, "Can I see?"
"No... it's fine, I promise!" Armin quickly countered and yelped when Eren grabbed his arm, "Ow!"
"A bit?" Eren repeated, now angrily and softly maneuvered his friend until he was sitting down next to him, "What happened?"
The bandages were wrapped haphazardly around his hands, but the cherry red burn marks extended up to his wrists. It was definitely not an average burn.
"It's-"
"Don't tell me it's nothing!" Eren snapped and unrolled the bandage to get a better look of the injury, "Because THIS is not nothing!"
"Well... when I tried to pull you out of your titan form..." Armin started and gulped loudly, "... a kind of defense mechanism kicked in..."
"Huh? Like the Collossal Titan?" Eren said and finished rolling up the bandages, "You got burnt by the steam... of my titan form?"
The bandages on Armin's hands had done absolutely nothing to assist the healing. Instead, the dry bandages had completely rubbed the blisters raw on his hands and caused a few of them to bleed.
"Shit, Armin... why didn't you tell Squad Leader Hanji this happened?" Eren exclaimed and suddenly started to feel lightheaded, "Or... why not just..."
Armin nudged Eren's arm with the back of his wrist, "Hey... calm down, you look like you're going to pass out!" he warned and tried to steady his friend as best he could without using his hands, "It's not your fault... it's not like you can control it?!"
"That's what you're supposed to say to a girl when she's having her period..." Eren countered sourly and tried to breathe deeply. He had to rest his head between his knees until the feeling of wanting to pass out finally passed. It took a while.
"I got you some books?" Armin suggested, trying to change the topic a bit. He tried to reach across Eren to pick up a book, but the contact upon the cover instantly hand him wincing once more. He wriggled his sore fingers and grimaced before he finally stated, "Umm... you'll have to page it without me though, I'm not much use at this point..."
"I'm so sorry, Armin..." Eren said and felt that crushing pain press down on his throat, "I..."
A soft sob escaped him and he tried his best to muffle out the sound with the pillow he grabbed, "Mfpphhh... smmm... ssmmmphhrr..."
"I didn't get that..."
"Ammmff... smmm … smmphrree..."
"I can't understand pillow talk, Eren," Armin said as he tried to catch the words of his best friend, "Please translate."
Eren straightened up and gasped for breath. His face was completely red and his eyes were bloodshot from crying. "I am so... so... sorry!" he yelled and dug his face back into the pillow.
"Ah... you see, THAT I understood... we can make this our secret language, you know?" Armin suggested jokingly and bumped his hip against Eren's.
That, at least, earned a muffled laugh from the young man.
"Come on, please, I want to talk to you..." Armin soothed and tried to pat Eren on his back, once more, without using his hands, "Please?"
Finally, Eren leaned back and sniffed hard, "Sorry..."
"It's okay..."
"Does it hurt?"
"A bit..."
"Did you let the doctors take a look at it?"
"It's not that bad.. I figured it'd just heal on its own..."
Eren wiped his nose on his sleeve before giving one last courage-gathering sniff. He slowly stood up and walked to the medicine cabinet on the wall, "I'll do it..."
"You don't have to!" Armin protested, "You're the one lying in a hospital, after all! I'll just..."
"To make it up to you..." Eren explained, without turning back. He gathered the supplies he needed and walked back to the bed and dumped the contents on it, "Give me your hands..."
"Do you even know how to do this?" Armin asked suspiciously. After all, guilt does not equate expertise.
"You know my dad was a doctor, right?" Eren countered and got out a tube of green cream, "I learnt the basics before he..."
The silence stretched as Eren's unfinished sentence hung in the air. They both lost their families, after all. It was still painful, no matter how many years went by.
Eren slowly worked the cream unto Armin's hands as slowly, but thoroughly as he could. The colour was nauseating, but the effects were rather instantaneous.
"Oh!" Armin exclaimed, his eyes wide and suddenly brimmed with tears, "That's... that feels so much better!"
Eren smiled, but didn't look up from his work. He made sure to get Armin's wrists too and a couple of patches on his arm that seemed a bit pinker than usual. Slowly, he added another layer to Armin's hands before getting the paraffin gauge ready.
"What is that?" Armin peered at the waxy looking sheet.
"It's paraffin gauze... it'll help heal it faster..." Eren answered softly and, as gently as he could, draped it over Armin's palms. He'd honestly expected another yelp from the blond, considering the state of his hands, but it was obvious that the pain-killing cream was doing its job.
"I'm not made of glass..." Armin sneered and grinned when Eren started to blush.
"I know that!" the young German countered and, as softly as he could, started to re-bandage the injury sites. Although the pressure of the bandages was light, it had to be secure enough to minimize movement and further injury.
"Try not to use your hands for anything, alright?" Eren said and thought for a moment before grabbing a pair of disposable surgical gloves off the counter of the medical cabinet, "You'll need these..."
"For what?" Armin asked only to reach the conclusion a moment later, "Oh... ew! Eren!"
"What?" Eren protested, with a grin, and tucked the gloves into Armin's jacket pocket for him, "It's a natural body function!"
His friend, on the other hand, could do without the implications of those words.
After a couple more moments, Eren finished up wrapping Armin's wrists and hands, making sure to taper off the bandages around his fingers, "Alright... that should do it, how does it feel?"
Gingerly, Armin tested out his fingers and worked them to a fist and back, "Much better... whatever you did worked!" he said, genuinely happy now that the pain was gone.
"Come back tonight and I'll re-do them for you..." Eren said and finally managed to smile in relief, "It's the least I could do for you...".
Not a moment later, Armin wrapped his arms around Eren and rested his chin on his shoulder, "Thank you so much, Eren..." he said and hugged him tighter, "I lov… uh.. appreciate it... so much!"
Too caught up in the moment, Eren just nodded happily and hugged back, "For you, anytime..."
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I hope you enjoyed it ;)
Please drop me a pm or review if you liked it!