Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or Shingeki no Kyojin.
Too Late
…
Sometimes, love is not in sync; not felt at the same time, shown at the same time, given at the same time.
Sometimes, love is lagged; one loved before the other, one showed it to the other before the other could give it back.
Love is a tricky thing when it comes to time. I could love you before you even know who I am, or you could love me before I could ever have a chance to feel anything towards you.
…..
Armin Arlert had known Eren Jaeger since he was ten, possibly younger. If he wanted to pick an exact age it would be impossible; it's been years.
Eren, in all his glory, had attempted to save Armin from a smack down with around-the-block bullies. The bullies had seen Armin as weak, 'girl'-looking, a midget.
Eren had been strolling down the street, lumber on his back from his daily routine, and spotted the barricade of males surrounding someone who was significantly shorter.
The green eyed spitfire had dropped his lumber and charged at the males– though they had been larger than he was, and ended up with quite a few bruises that had served as the entertainment the boys wanted.
The boys had left and Armin was shaking with tears. He had only landed a minor black eye, but seeing Eren sporting such injuries because of him caused the guilt to grow.
Eren had waved it aside, standing up with a small cringe but placed his hand on Armin's shoulder. "Are you okay?" He asked, concern and anger obvious in his voice. Why had those boys been teasing this person? Yeah, he was a little small but that's normal at their age (the person was his age, right?).
Armin looked up. He had tears on his face, but his eyes met Eren's and wow– they were beautiful. "I'm fine. Thank you." The blond had answered, observing the boys features.
Eren smiled. He smiled his Jaeger warm smile that caused Armin's heart to momentarily skip a beat. This boy was beautiful, he had saved him, he took hits for him– I guess you could say it was love at first sight.
The two boys grew up together since that moment. Armin met Mikasa, Eren's adoptive sister, and together they were close friends that supported each other.
Armin loved Eren. His love had grown as the years went on; at ten, his heartbeat quickened when Eren was around, at 15, Armin would follow the boy in any decision and go wherever he went.
But Eren had only reprimanded Armin as a close best friend whom he could consult for advice. The boy with Titan-Shifting abilities didn't feel the quickened heartbeat, didn't see the flustered smiles, or how Armin's eyes brightened when he was around.
Armin saw this. He saw how Eren grew without feeling the same thing, he saw how Eren only cared about one thing; killing Titans. And, he supposed, he was okay with that.
At sixteen, Armin gave up. He stopped trying to have Eren notice his feelings, he stopped reacting so obviously in love with his best friend.
When Eren was sixteen, he began to break down more. Everything was getting to him– and Armin was there to calm him down. Eren had never fully appreciated Armin until those small moments.
Soon, his emotions grew. Love blossomed in his heart for his blond best friend, love he didn't know he could feel.
But Eren had loved too little, too late. Armin had moved on. He fell in love with another, another who reciprocated his feelings.
Now Eren understood what Armin had felt through all those years.