It all happened so fast, and yet seconds ticked down like eternity.
" Eren, look out! " Armin's wail leaves him staring into space as a pressure forces him to collapse down. He drops to his knees, and closes his eyes when he feels debris scurry into the air. A 15 meter titan towers over Eren, now crouched low, and its arm is sticking out. Its mouth is splattered with blood, with saliva oozing from its jawline. Eren shudders in horror. It must have tried to hit him, but missed due to Armin's reflexes. Speaking of Armin..
Eren can hear a pained gasp escape his lips when he searches the roof for his friend. In spite of his hunt, he doesn't locate Armin. But, he sees a pale, petite hand clinging onto the side of the building. The knuckles are turning white from not letting go, and Eren lurches forwards.
" Armin! " Eren quickly drags himself to the edge, just enough to fall off if he lost his balance. His torso is loosely off the edge of the roof, and he outstretches his hand to grab hold of Armin's. Armin, who was staring at the ground in fear, suddenly snaps his head up, and makes eye contact with Eren. Eren peers down, and seizes Armin's arm just as he lets go. He can hear fretful cries behind him when he was finally able to pull Armin to safety. The titan that attacked Eren was slayed and Mikasa rushes over to the duo.
" Are you guys okay? " Her expression is contained, but her voice sounds deeply concerned. She must have seen the whole incident occur.
" Y- Yeah. Thanks to Armin here. " Eren wraps an arm around a frightful Armin, who is huddling on the ground. He snaps out of it, exhaling. Armin takes Mikasa's hand, and staggers to his feet. Eren gets up on his own, and watches as Mikasa nods and turns away. She yells inaudible things to the squad next to her; Armin and Eren exchange a glance as Armin crosses his arms.
" Eren, you have to turn into a titan! " Armin throws his hands into the air, giving his claim more effectiveness. Eren nods shakily, and grows serious. He knows he has to do this. For Armin. For Mikasa. For all the soldiers who have died in the past. Anger makes his blood boil. Armin has no idea what it's like! He shouldn't be bossing him around like this- he should just mind his own business. Armin opens his mouth to say something, but Eren quickly takes the moment of silence to comment.
" I know, idiot! I'm trying! " He snaps, glaring at his friend. " Just get out of my business and mind your own! " Armin was slightly inching towards Eren when he suddenly stops. His oceanic eyes grow wary as Eren scrunches his eyebrows together.
" Sorry I'm such a burden. " Armin mutters, averting Eren's gaze coldly. Eren watches as his friend rushes over to Mikasa, while mumbling a few things to her. Eren can feel her pestering look, and tries biting his hand again. It's no use. Mikasa flies over, while Armin follows reluctantly. Soldiers are scattering, with signs of titans retreating from the group on the other side of the district.
" Eren, you better hurry up! Soldiers are dying because you aren't even changed into a titan yet! " Mikasa yells, narrowing her gaze at him. Eren shakes his head, pushing his hair back stressfully.
" I know! I know.. " His voice sounds broken, and tears well up in his eyes. Armin, while gazing into the distance, snaps at Mikasa.
" Get Eren out of here! " Armin pulls his hood over his shining blond locks, and his cornflower blue eyes meet Mikasa's sterling silver ones. She gazes into the distance, and lets out a faint gasp. In the distance, was the Female Titan. Armin lurches forwards, running off the roof, and towards the titan.
Eren reaches out for Armin, but his hand closes on nothing but air. In frustration, tears cascade down his cheeks. Mikasa forcefully pulls him away, much to Eren's disbelief. He can only watch as Armin nears the titan. Alone. What would he do if that was the last time he saw his friend again? How could he live with himself if the thing he called Armin last, was an idiot..?
Armin was flying through the air, letting the wind caress his cheeks. He closed his captivating blue eyes and let the feeling of freedom consume him for just those few seconds of bliss.
He knew that this could just as well be a suicide mission.
Reopening his eyes, the Female Titan closes in on him, and he swerves to the left. He can hear other soldiers around him, and he notices one of them is Reiner. His eyes are wide in horror as a soldier is sent flying into a building. Armin barely dodges a hit, and watches as the Female Titan grasps hold on a random soldier.. She has striking ginger hair, and freckles litter her cheeks. The feminine figure lets out an earsplitting screech as the hand clamps around her body, fatally cracking her spine in half.
" Hannah! " Armin bellows, reaching out towards her. He swore he saw the Female Titan tilt her head away a bit when she put all her force into crushing beloved Hannah. Blood splatters on Armin's cloak, and he pulls his hood back on again. It's stained with the red liquid, and he fights to let the tears flow down his face. It would only show weakness, and humanity didn't need any more weaknesses.
Armin fretfully scans the area, and he's the only soldier left that is standing up to the Female Titan. He just hopes that Eren and Mikasa are safe. Two figures are in the distance when he look behind him, and he can see one is struggling to hold the other one back. It was Mikasa and Eren. When he turns back, his face is reflected into an icy set of eyes. Armin's breath hitches in his throat, and he turns away. But, he knows what he has to do.
" Annie! " He hollers, making the pupils of the titan narrow. Armin roughly pulls his hood off, and stares intently into the titan's gaze. " Why are you doing this? What is causing you to try and kill mankind? "
He doesn't struggle as she pulls him into her hand. " Why? What did we ever do to you?! " That was the wrong thing to say. With a loud, perplexed roar, she sends Armin flying. Armin knew she was going to do something like this. With his grappling hook ready, he hooks onto a random building. Armin tightens the breaks, and lets the gas fly through the air. Armin doesn't slow down even in the slightest. His eyes widen in shock; he wasn't going to make it.
Abandoning the idea of stopping himself, Armin covers his head with his arms and closes his eyes. He readies himself for the impact, which sends him flying through a brick wall. An agonizing scream escapes Armin's lips, and he tries his best to muffle it when he collapses onto the wooden floor in the building.
His hazy eyes stare up into the ceiling; the pain was too much. It felt like he was being torn in half, yet nothing was touching him. His muscles ache to just give up. A deep wound in his abdomen makes him breath rapidly. Panic settles in his stomach, making the stinging even more intense. He can feel the blood gushing out of his injury, and he wishes he could just curl in a corner and sleep. Footsteps snap him out of his dream-like state. He gently tilts his head to the side, and sees teary eyed green ones followed by concerned grey ones.
" E- Eren.. Mikasa.. " Armin chokes out, a faint smile forming on his face. He reaches his hand up, only now noticing a deep cut in it. Blood is dripping down his pale wrist, and he roughly lets it fall to the floor. A hand catches it, and intertwines his fingers in theirs. Tears fall down Eren's cheeks, making Armin let tears flow as well.
A silent sob racks Armin's body, but he never stops smiling.
" I'm.. sorry. " Armin whispers, letting his head fall back loosely. Energy is fading out of him, and he knows there's not much time left for him.
" No, don't you die on me! " Eren begs, scooping Armin in his lap. Mikasa runs out of the hole Armin created, probably in search for help. Armin makes eye contact with Eren's. He never noticed how beautiful they were.
" Eren, " Armin starts, still staring up at his best friend, " Your eyes are beautiful. " This makes Eren sob even more, placing his face in Armin's shining locks. He gives out a soft sigh, and lets his head fall limp.
" Please, Armin. Stay awake.. Please. " The pain in Eren's voice made Armin start crying harder than before. He just now realizes he's going to die. They won't see the ocean together. They won't be able to grow old and tell stories of the olden days. They won't ever explore the outside world one day. Their dreams are falling apart just as Armin's life is slowly dying…
" Explore the world, Eren. " Armin tries, but a violent cough seizes his voice. He opens his mouth, trying to rid of the blood clogging up in it. It drips down on his uniform, which was stained before this. " See the vast snow hills of sand, the fire water, the ocean.. "
" No, Armin. Not without you! " Eren scoops Armin into his arms, like a groom would do to a bride. He lurches out of the building, with a limp Armin in his arms. Eren knows that Armin will die if he doesn't get him to Hange, and quick.
" I'm not going to let you die, Armin. I- I.. " Eren leaves the statement untold, and grapples onto the wall. He climbs up it frantically, while gripping Armin the entire way. He flies up onto the wall, with a battered and bloody Armin in his hands when he finally reaches Hange.
She stares at him in shock, " Follow me quick. He doesn't have much time left. "
Eren quickly obliges, practically sprinting to the infirmary. He can feel Armin growing cold with every passing minute. If Armin doesn't make it..
He shakes his head quickly when they make it to a large stone building along a tree line. They left the wall ages ago, and back into the city. He knew he failed the operation. The soldiers will retreat, all because he had to leave for Armin. No. Armin is more important to him, than killing titans. He would never kill another titan again if it meant keeping Armin safe.
Hange lead Eren to an empty room. He placed Armin on the stunning white cot, but it quickly got stained in Armin's blood. Hange yelled frantically for others to come help her, and when they did, they shooed Eren out of the room.
He could still hear the pleading calls of Hange for Armin to stay awake when he left the room.
The operation was indeed a failure, just like Eren predicted it would have been. He was in the waiting room of the infirmary when Mikasa, Levi, and Erwin joined him.
" You asshole. Why did you abandon the operation?! " Levi grabs the front of Eren's uniform, now covered in Armin's blood.
" My best friend got injured. He would have died if I didn't do something! " Eren retorts, towering above the little man. He watches as Levi loosens his grip on Eren's shirt, but says nothing. " He happens to be one of the smartest people here. You know the battle of Trost? That victory only happened because Armin came up with the idea! "
Eren's words even shock him. He didn't realize that until now. Armin's plan had earned humanity's first ever victory against Titans. That alone should be enough to let him get off the hook for running off. Mikasa nods in approval, and quickly drags Eren to check for wounds.
" Mikasa, I'm fine. " He mumbles, half of it true. Eren was still in shock about Armin's horrid state. He didn't know what he would do if Armin didn't make it.
" I'm sorry I didn't get there in time. " Mikasa starts, her vibrant red scarf hanging around her neck loosely, " I went in search of help, but got caught up with some titans. " Eren nods; he understood. It would have been awkward if Mikasa had been there when Eren was crying though. He wipes the wetness from his cheeks, totally forgetting about his tears.
Eren never left the infirmary. He waited. And waited. And waited. Seconds turned into minutes. And minutes turned into hours.
Five hours after the incident, Eren was able to visit Armin. He was alone when he visited him. Mikasa was called to a special meeting about Eren's whereabouts with Levi and Erwin. Eren trudges over to the door. He knocks slightly, only for Hange to manifest herself in seconds.
" Eren! " She seems genuinely surprised, " Armin's asleep. So, try not to wake him. " With a nods from Eren, she leaves. Her footsteps echo the empty hallway and slowly dies, leaving an eerie silence. Eren gently tiptoes over to the side of Armin's bed.
Armin looks peaceful. His usual energetic sky blue eyes are closed. Only a simple rise and fall of his chest proves he's alive. Armin's golden locks are pushed out of his face, except for his bangs that fall onto his forehead. His pale body shudders with every breath, and Eren fights to hold in the tears. A bandage is placed on Armin's right arm, where he deeply gashed it.
Eren slightly pushes the covers off of Armin, and sees his entire torso covered in gauges and cloth. His breath catches in his throat at the sight, and he's quick to cover Armin once again. Bruises are forming on Armin's petite hands when Eren grasps one.
" Tomorrow's your birthday, Armin. " He whispers, a silent sob forming in his chest. The thought of Armin missing his birthday makes him cry out in defeat. Eren slumps against Armin's chest, careful not to put his full weight on him. Still holding his hand, he tightens his grasp.
" I would read to you if I could. " Tears stream down Eren's cheeks when he gazes back up at his friend. He doesn't respond. " Armin.. " A slight pressure on his shoulder makes him gaze up and see Mikasa towering above him.
" Hange told me you were in here.. " A few tears escape her eyes and she slumps down onto her knees. Mikasa holds onto Eren's arm, and leans her head onto the bed. Guilt washes over the two at the news. Eren shakes his head.
" I'm sorry… " Her voice trembles, and Eren stares down at her. He longs to comfort her, but the weight of the news makes him stare into space.
A few minutes of silence passes between the two, and Mikasa excuses herself. Eren nods, and watches as she exits the room, pulling her scarf above her mouth.
" Armin.. please wake up. " He lets his head fall onto their intertwined fingers, and another sob wracks his body. " I'm sorry. I should never of called you an idiot. I should of told you how much you mean to me.. " Eren sniffles, and closes his eyes. His tears fall, and drip onto his pants. He doesn't care.
" You were- no, are, an amazing friend. You've been there for me even when I was at my worst. You're the best partner and comrade I could ask for. I love your voice when you read stories about dashing heroes, and damsels in distress. We were going to see the world.. Together. But now, you're here. And it's all my fault. I should of told you how much I love you. " Eren chokes out, his voice failing him on the last sentence. He roughly inhales, and another sob makes him shutter.
" E- Eren..? " Armin croaks, his voice frail and broken. Eren's head snaps up, and gazes into sapphire blue eyes. Exhaustion is shown in both of the boys' eyes, but Eren staggers to his feet.
" Armin! " A grin plasters his face. He embraces the shorter boy, making him wince in pain. " Sorry.. "
" Did you.. mean all those things you said about me? " Armin inquires, not getting up to rest in a sitting position. Eren nods, watching as tears fall down Armin's eyes as well.
" It's a good thing, then. " He states, a smile forming on his face. " I love you, too. "