A/N: Summary: Two in the morning is a time when Jean and Armin could use some hope.

"Armin?" Jean murmured, voice low and tired, standing the doorway wearing his pajamas.

It the night before their first Survey Corps mission, maybe two in the morning, a time silent and foreboding. The darkness spread through the room not velvety and soft, but rough and many-shadowed, cut harshly by cold moonlight that fell just out of Armin's reach, on the floor. He lay on his side in his bed in the Survey Corps' headquarters, eyes narrowed, fists gripped in his sheet, doubts dancing with wishes in his mind.

Armin turned to face Jean, "Yes?" he whispered, half-holding himself up with his arm.

"Can I come in?"

"Mmm-hmm," Armin patted the bed next to him and sat up.

Jean walked to the spot, feet soft over the icy floor. He slid under the covers, settling next to Armin's warmth. A long moment of silence followed, Jean studying the dust on Armin's dresser, brought into harsh relief by the moonlight.

Finally, with a shaky sigh, the taller said "I'm scared."

Another beat, another breath, "Me too."

"Is it a two in the morning thing, to feel scared, and cold and utterly empty?" Jean forced out the words, trembling.

"Maybe," Armin entwined his fingers with Jean's, running a thumb over the back of his hand thoughtfully, "Or maybe it's a night to be scared."

"Your hands are cold…"

"It's a cold night, Jean," Armin dropped his head to the other's shoulder and Jean followed suit.

"Why did we join the Survey Corps, Armin?" Jean almost sounded tortured.

"I joined because I want to see the world... I want to stop hiding; I want to make a difference. I want to finally fight back."

"Leave it to you to have it figured out…" Jean chuckled harshly.

"Hell I do… I want to be strong, but sometimes, I feel so weak…" Armin trailed off, gazing at his free hand.

"You're plenty strong already, Armin. You saved Eren from the Garrison, and us all from the titans in the resupply room. You're strong because you fight through your weakness," Jean's voice was steadier than it had been all night, and he shifted his head to kiss Armin on the cheek.

"Thanks…" Armin whispered, blushing, "But why did you join?"

"Honestly? I don't know… I just felt I'd be too disappointed in myself if I joined the Military Police. Somehow, after Trost, I just feel like I needed to do it. Seeing Marco and so many others dead, so meaninglessly, so quietly…"

"Mmm…" Armin turned to face Jean, cupping his cheek with one hand, "I feel like you're a person with a strong moral compass, but you just don't know how to read it. Maybe that's your weakness; you don't know why you want what you want… But despite being afraid and unsure, you do what you feel is the right thing," His voice was tender and gentle.

"I just… I don't know if I can do this… I keep seeing Marco's face, and hearing myself order people to use other's deaths to escape…," tears formed at the corners of his eyes, and trickled down his face, slipping into the crevice between his and Armin's cheeks, "It just feels so bleak, and hopeless," he sighed, and Armin pressed heir foreheads together for a moment, before they returned to their original position, head on shoulder, shoulder on head.

"Isn't that why we fight? So those people haven't died in vain? We carry their deaths, their wishes on our shoulders. We have to make it right, have to fight back. We have to have hope," Armin finished strongly.

"Hope… Eren?" Jean muttered, "He can; even control his titan… I don't want to die in vain, not even knowing what I'm trying to protect, what we're trying to achieve, or even if it can be achieved."

"It can be. It happened in Trost. It can happen again. We just have to give Eren everything, even our lives. Hope can be a difficult thing," Armin sounded tired.

"Just that… Can I give Eren my life? I don't want to die," Jean's voice petered out, a desperate whisper.

"I think yes, you can, because you are strong. I know in the end you will make the right choice, because you are strong. But also, because you are strong, we are strong, because we have hope; I know that we will not die without a fight," Armin turned to kiss Jean, soft and chaste, then pulled back, holding eyes contact, willing Jean to understand, "It's okay to feel weak. I'm sure Eren feels weak right now, knowing how many will die for his sake tomorrow. I feel weak, knowing that I can't protect myself very well. And you feel weak, because you don't know if you can die for someone else. But, tomorrow, know that I have faith in you, faith that you can draw from that weakness, that fear, a strength, an anger, a will to fight. You are strong, Jean," Armin finished his speech, face intense, voice quiet with a deadly determination.

"Armin… Do you mind if I stay here tonight? It's warm," Jean had the barest hint of a smile, tired and sad.

"Of course. It's too cold to sleep alone," Armin returned the smile, his own a bit stronger.

So they slid onto their sides, facing each other, legs entwined. Armin snuggled his face into the crook of Jean's neck, and felt the other's arms around him, comforting and safe.

As they settled in, Armin felt jean's lips against his ear: "Thank you," impossibly quiet.

"Anytime," he replied, just as softly.

Jean pressed a good-night kiss to Armin's forehead, and they slept, backs turned to the cold, ragged dark and icy moonlight, cradling a spark of hope between them.

A/N: Prompt: 2 a.m.

Time: 1 hour?

Words: 960

Pages: 3 1/2 in MS Word, Garamond size 12, 1.5 spaces

this is kind of rough, sorry ^^ but it's late

I was going to write a happy Reigisa thing, but then I watched an episode of SNK. (that I've been on an SNK high for the past week, because I finally got around to watching the anime)

Oh, and this going to be a series of oneshots, probably under 2,000 words or something. Most will be happier/fluffier! (hopefully...)

This is the only pairing from SNK that I'm really sure about, I actually really like them. That and Armin is probably the cutest thing this side of my cat(s).

um, I really like writing in Garamond lately, although it doesn't make a difference here... Jean's name looks so pretty in it)

that's all, I guess?