A/N: So, a small idea that's been rattling around in my hazy brain since Monday and I couldn't help but put it into a story. So, I hope you enjoy, reviews are much appreciated, and thank you to anyone for checking out this story! You're all amazing! :D


Their first day as Cadets in their training days the trainees didn't think much about the others other than that they were comrades. Now that more than a few years had passed, they'd managed to get to know each other on a more personal level. Some even became acquaintances, allies, or even small rivals with each other. The best example being Eren Yeager and Jean Kirstein. Since day one they were less than friendly towards each other, even though both of them knew full well it would have been better if they were even just a tad civil with each other.

Other than Jean, Eren had no real enemies in the training facility. Mikasa was also on good terms with most people. Armin had no real enemies as well, but he wasn't as forward and strong as his friends had been. He never threw his opinion out there, he never spoke up or caused trouble. There were the odd few that tried to start trouble with him, but he ignored it. They weren't worth the punishment Shadis would inflict if he found out others were starting shit in his training facility.

Jean, unlike the three friends, wasn't much liked by the others in the facility. But he didn't really care. He was only here for himself and no one else. He would accomplish his dream of being in the Military Police and being completely safe within the innermost wall. No one would turn him from this dream, especially that preachy bastard, Yeager.

Despite his dream, however, it wasn't as if he was completely unfeeling.

Especially with the fairer sex.

Mikasa had grabbed his eye almost instantly upon day one. Her long black hair, her deep dark eyes, and her gorgeous skin… it had all set him ablaze with desire over her. Not only were her features the epitome of perfection, but her skills in training were phenomenal. Everything about her was perfect, save for the unrequited desire and devotion she had over Eren. Had it not been for that, he would have made his move a long time ago. Sadly, however, he was left to just watch from afar and hope to god that he got her alone one day.

Although it was apparent to most of the trainees of Jean's affection over Mikasa, no one really noticed the affections of a certain blonde towards the man himself.

Armin was not as forward with his emotions while in training like others. He was too nervous, too shy to come out and say things to others. He'd been beaten up so many times in the past from giving his opinion that he'd learned to just shut up and keep his eyes to the floor. But it wasn't as if he was devoid of feelings, that wasn't it at all. In fact, out of everyone, he believed he had the most feelings out of all of them.

The blonde had finished his small portion of soup and bread and was now waiting on his friends to do the same. In the moments where he was waiting he looked up towards Jean and noticed his attention was once again turned to Mikasa. Effectively making the blonde's heart crush in pain and longing.

Eren and Mikasa knew full well Armin wasn't like other men. He didn't want attention from women. What they didn't know was his harboured affections for Eren's newfound rival. The small glances, the silent wishes of being noticed by the man, and the way he lost focus anytime he was close to him. How the two never picked up on it was beyond him, but he supposed it was a good thing considering Eren would kill Jean if he found out about Armin's feelings. The last thing the blonde's best friend ever wanted was the possibility of him getting hurt by anyone else. And Jean could be a loose cannon if given the opportunity to prove it. Somehow, Armin found this strangely attractive in the taller cadet. Maybe because he was the opposite, or maybe he just liked the excitement.

He honestly didn't know.

Growing a bit tired of waiting for the two to finish eating – Mikasa being slower than Eren by stopping to chastise the brunette for eating too quickly, and Eren slowing down to argue with the girl – so the blonde just excused himself and made for the exit. He'd been reading a book he'd borrowed from the library and he was eager to get back to it as soon as he could. With the little to no reading material he had as a child, finding an entire building dedicated to letting people read to their heart's content was a dream come true for the boy. He hadn't stopped reading since finding the place, and with it the books brought an escape from his tough life as a cadet and soon-to-be soldier.

Just as the blonde put away his dishes and headed for the exit, a hand on the door stopped him in his tracks and he immediately felt a twinge of fear pass through him. This had been the last thing he wanted to deal with after training all day.

He'd been looking at him for a week now, a soldier Armin hadn't memorized the name of but memorized his hazy and sinful eyes. Green and sharp, always staring at him like he was a feast ready to be devoured at any moment. It made the blonde uncomfortable to be looked at like this, and it make his heart clench in fear at what would happen were he to get on his bad side. So for the past week he'd said nothing and let it slide. Hoping that the teenager would realize he was indeed male and not looking for anything he was planning for him. However, at that moment, it didn't look like the teen cared if he was male or not. Just that he was in sight and alone.

The green eyed cadet smirked at him. "Going back to the barracks? Mind if I join?"

Armin shook slightly in a bit of fear but didn't show any sign of cowering. This wasn't the first time he'd been thought of as a female, and it wouldn't be the last. If he just stood his ground and told the cadet to leave him alone, then things could end right here and now.

"No, you may not. May I please pass now?"

The cadet took a step towards him, still smirking. "C'mon Arlert, you can't say no."

"You're aware I'm male, correct?" He asked as he was backed into an empty table where he was pinned down by the cadet's hands on either side of him.

"So?" The cadet asked as he gently took hold of the boy's jaw. "From behind it won't matter."

The blonde felt a jolt of fear course through him that made his entire being freeze. For a moment there he thought he'd might've passed out…

…until someone pulled him away from his face and to the floor.

Jean didn't understand Mikasa and Armin's devotion to Eren, but that didn't mean either of them deserved to be treated like this. So the moment Jean found the blonde pinned to a table shaking in fear from this green eyed bastard, he took action.

He stood between the two cadets and glared his golden eyes at the teen he just threw to the floor.

"Walk away, or you won't have the legs to walk on anymore." He threatened.

The teen rushed off in fear and didn't look back. Jean knew he could be scary when angry and knew full well he could kick some drunk teenager's ass without even trying. He wasn't the greatest soldier, but he was a hell of a lot better than some.

He turned to the blonde behind him and saw he was still shaking in a bit of fright. "Are you okay?"

The blonde nodded. "Thank you," came his soft reply.

The shorter teen pushed himself away from the table and shuffled towards the door. He could see that the kid was still shaken up slightly and he felt his being wash over in worry over him.

He put a hand on the blonde's shoulder, effectively making him jump. "Here, let me come with you. I'll be your personal body guard!" He joked.

The blonde looked over his shoulder nervously towards his table and back to him. "What about…"

"I finished eating a while ago. I was just waiting for Marco to finish but he got sidetracked talking to Mina about helping her on an assignment. Come on, I'll walk you to the barracks and then…"

"That's fine." Came a gruff and angry voice from behind him, making the two cadets turn and look to see who it was.

Eren smacked the taller boy's hand away from Armin's shoulder and glared at the cadet. "I'll thank you for saving Armin from that bastard, but please keep your grimy hands off of him and leave us to his protection."

"Eren," Armin spoke softly, "I'm fine. I can go to the barracks on my own."

"No, I won't let you. Not after what I witnessed." The brunette finalized. "And I won't let you go back with just him."

Jean scoffed at the teen. "You treat him like that and he'll never become a good soldier."

Eren grabbed the taller teen's shirt and pushed him into a wall. "Armin is twice the soldier you'll ever be!"

The blonde sighed to himself. "Here we go again."

The two boy's bickered about Eren coddling Armin like a child the same way Mikasa did to him and each tried to defend their own side of the argument with a lot of yelling and weak insults to each other. It was rather pathetic to watch, but it wasn't that bad of an entertainment for the rest of the cadets.

Mikasa finally put an end to the bickering and grabbed Eren's arm to yank his hand off of Jean's shirt.

"Eren," the girl spoke in a monotonous tone, "Jean was just trying to make sure Armin was safe. You should be thankful he did anything at all rather than sit back and let him get hurt. I don't care about your hostility towards each other, it doesn't mean he's the same way with others. So stop acting like a child and go back to eating your dinner."

Armin said nothing but nodded at what Mikasa said. He was quite thankful that Jean had stepped in when he did instead of hanging back and doing nothing. Although, Armin had a pretty good idea why he did what he did.

And it wasn't to be a good person.

Mikasa looked up at Jean. "Will you please take Armin back to the barracks so Eren may finish his meal?"

The blonde jolted at this. "M-Mikasa! I can take care of myself! I-It's okay!"

Jean only smirked at the blonde's terrible attempt to sound brave. "Sure, I'll bring him back safe and sound! Just because you asked so nicely Mikasa."

She nodded at the boy and dragged Eren back over to their table, the brunette thrashing about wildly and spouting cusses and threats at Jean if he found anything wrong with the blonde when he returned.

The taller of the two teens looked down at the blonde boy and gestured towards the door. "After you."

The boy stared up into Jean's golden eyes before sighing in defeat and heading out the door. Jean followed close behind like a loyal puppy.

The boy hummed in discord and looked to his left at the man. "I know you only helped me to get on Mikasa's good side. You can just leave my side right now and I'll put in a good word for you, it's no big deal."

The golden eyed boy looked back at him in confusion. "What? What are you talking about?"

"We all know you have a thing for Mikasa, so I know you only helped me to get on her good side. I promise, I'll say something on your behalf, but you don't have to act like a gentleman when I know you're only doing this for yourself. So just… leave me alone. I'll be fine."

The taller teen stopped in his tracks and looked over at the blonde. "Armin, Mikasa had nothing to do with my decision to help you. I saw what that pervert was doing, I saw that you were afraid, so I jumped in to help you out. I wasn't even thinking about Mikasa when I saw you shaking in fear over that bastard! I just wanted to help you!"

The boy's face relaxed a little, his body following suit. "You… …really? W-Why would you want to help me?"

The man scoffed. "Just because Eren is an ass doesn't mean I think you or Mikasa are. I'm not going to throw you into my own business with Yeager or Mikasa any more than you throw your own business into anyone else's. I'm not that cold hearted, you know."

The blonde blinked at him before looking away towards the ground, a light pink tinting his face. "Oh… s-sorry. I shouldn't assume things like that about you just because of Eren and Mikasa."

The teen grinned at the smaller boy's adorable face and ruffled the blonde locks of hair. "No worries. We can still be a team you and I, even if Eren and I manage to kill each other in the end. Though I doubt Mikasa will ever talk to me again if I do manage to destroy him."

The blonde boy giggled softly at this, his smile coming to the surface, and Jean felt his heart skip a beat at the sound of his small laugh. Did Armin always have such an adorable laugh? Maybe he should start paying attention more when the blonde was around.

They continued their walk back to the barracks in silence, but Jean gladly took note of Armin's smile on the walk there and felt his own lips curve into a small grin. Although Armin was indeed male, Jean did find a few aspects about him to be quite… lovely.

Although Mikasa was the object of his affections, it's not as if Jean didn't look around at the others every once in a while. Sasha he'd found to be quite a looker… up until she ate her first meal in front of him and he immediately turned tail. Annie was good looking, but cold hearted and not very friendly. Krista was beautiful, but way out of his league. Besides, Ymir had a close connection to her at all times and didn't let anyone else go near her unless she was there. Ymir herself wasn't his ideal girl as well. Too clingy and devoted to Krista. Hannah was already with Franz and Mina was trying her best to get Marco to like her. But out of all of them, besides Mikasa, Armin had captured his full attention. Maybe it'd been his blonde hair, or fair skin, or maybe the effeminate features, but Armin was the first boy he'd actually found attractive. Still to this day he'd found the blonde attractive. But he wasn't sure Armin had the same feelings as him, or even that he was into males.

Besides, Mikasa had been his goal for a long while and he aimed to have her first and foremost. Not to mention he didn't want to have to deal with people gossiping about him and Armin being together. As much as he'd like to at least try a relationship with the blonde, he didn't know if he could take the jokes and ridicule that would come along with it. Not to mention, if today proved anything, that Eren was more than willing to decapitate him if he felt Armin was ever put into any danger.

No, there was just too many risks involved if he were to choose Armin.

They entered into the barracks and Armin immediately took to his bed, fumbling around under his pillow to bring out a book he was currently reading.

Once Jean had shrugged off his shirt he looked over to the blonde and smirked. "I don't think I've ever seen you without a book in your hand before you fall asleep. And each night it looks different from the night before."

The blonde blushed slightly and curled into himself. "I read a lot when I was a kid. The thought of different worlds from this one fascinates me. But we didn't have a lot of selection back home so when I found the library here I practically filed out the weight of a titan in any books I could get my hands on."

Jean couldn't help the chuckle at hearing his little story and strode over to sit on the boy's bed. "So then what's this one about?"

Armin was hesitant but leaned forward to show the teen the pages.

"It's about a poor merchant who comes home to find his village, home, and family burned to the ground by crusaders, and he's taken to a far off land to be sold into slavery. He works from the bottom of the heap to become the land's greatest and most daring soldier. I'm almost done with the book though, so you can borrow it if you're interested in reading more. I got one on a wait list for me in the library anyway."

The teen rested his forehead on the blonde's and hummed with a slight smile on his face. "Thanks but no thanks. Unlike you my reading ability is slower moving and I wouldn't find a lot of time to read it. You should tell me how it ends though when you're finished."

The boy backed up slightly and shook his head. "If you're that interested to see what happens, then you should read it for yourself. If I can find time to read, so can you."

The teen shrugged. "I'm more of a pencil and paper kind of person. I'll spend fifteen minutes on reading, but I'll take hours – or even days – on a drawing. It's all about where I most find my passion."

Armin seemed surprised at this. "You can draw? Can you show me any of your works?"

The taller teen blushed at this and lifted a hand to scratch behind his head nervously. "Err… well… I guess. But I'm not that great of an artist. It was just a hobby of mine."

The teen slowly made his way to is bed and lifted the mattress to bring out his sketchbook. He handed it over to the blonde nervously but with a grin. "Just try not to laugh."

Armin happily took the sketchbook, flipping to page one…

…and was stunned into silence.

'Not a good artist' he says! Yet right in front of him Armin could see that Jean was wasting his time in the cadets when he should be focussing on his art! Each flower he drew from the vase that Krista had situated in each quarter – for both the men and women's side – had been beautifully drawn and magnificently shaded. It was as if Armin was looking at the real thing right in front of him. The next few pages had been even better with him having drawn eyes as practice, and a hand holding a rose. But after those Armin was even more stunned to find Jean's drawings of the other recruits. Sasha and Connie laughing at their own jokes, Reiner and Bertolt just casually lounging around, Krista smiling sweetly as Ymir had her arm draped over her, Marco smiling his usual sweet smile, and of course Mikasa and her ever-so-blank stare towards the reviewer of his pictures. Jean even made a picture of Eren, though it wasn't his best side since it was him eating sloppily and rudely. Armin couldn't help but stifle a laugh at how perfect it was to the real thing though.

On the last page though, Armin couldn't help the deep red blush on his cheeks as he came face to face with himself reading quietly on his bed like he always did at night before falling asleep. In this picture Jean had captured something Armin had no idea was even in his own eyes. Wonder, excitement, fulfillment, and a glow that brought the page to life. Out of all the pictures though, Jean had only coloured this one with favour. His blonde hair the perfect shade, his eyes a bright and shining blue, and his skin – though pale – seemed soft to the touch. All of this was accentuated by the soft glow of the candle not far from his bed on the dresser. Jean had captured everything in Armin's nightly routine, and it all looked so wonderful.

The blush deepened further. 'Is this how he sees me?' He wondered to himself.

Jean coughed into his hand nervously and gently took the book from the blonde's hands. "Yeah… I know they aren't great. But…"

"Jean," Armin spoke with a tentative grin, "I think they're wonderful! You have such raw talent! Why are you even here when you could make a life as a street artist?!"

Jean only shrugged. "I told you that before. I want safety behind the innermost wall. The best way to get that is to get into the Military Police."

Right. Somehow Armin had forgotten that little fact.

"Still… you have such an amazing talent. You shouldn't let it go to waste like this."

Another shrug from the taller boy. "It's just a passion. Something to pass the time."

The blonde hummed in response, and suddenly a question came to mind.

"So… why did you only colour the drawing of me?"

Jean blinked at this and his blush returned to his face as he scratched his cheek nervously. "Well… I…I noticed it was easier to do so since you're as still as the dead when you're reading. I took an opportunity and bought some coloured pencils from Trost to make the picture a bit better. Umm… w-what do you think? Does it look alright to you? I know I didn't exactly ask for your permission to draw you but…"

"I love it." Armin interrupted the boy, making his heart skip another beat. "You're really talented, Jean."

The taller boy felt his face grow hotter and his lips curl into a smile. "Uh… thank you. I'm glad you like the drawing."

A moment of awkward silence filled the room as Jean returned his sketchbook back to its place under his mattress. He then sat down and looked up at the blonde thoughtfully. For a quick moment he marvelled at the boy's bright blue eyes in the warm glow of the candle, mentally stopping himself from re-grabbing his sketchbook and getting to work on drawing those emotive eyes. He then wondered for a moment why, with all he did in observing Mikasa, he bought those pencils purely for the picture he had of Armin.

He took a breath and lay down in his bed. "I should… um… let you get back to reading." He then rolled over, looking away from the boy. "'Night."

Before he could close his eyes and try to forget about the boy and those large impassioned eyes he had, he jolted at the sudden feeling of lips on his cheek and turned to see Armin sitting over him, biting his lip and playing his his hair nervously. Looking away to hide his reddening face.

The blonde cleared his throat. "Thank- -Thank you… by the way. For- -" he giggled softly, "for not making me look like Eren did. Sloppy and unattractive."

Jean paused for a second before smiling up at the boy and leaning up to look at him better. "I only draw what I see in others. And, let's face it, Eren is a bit sloppy. You have more personality so… I gave you more colour than the others."

Armin scoffed at this. "Right… I have more personality than Sasha or Connie."

"Okay then…" he paused to think of a better word. "You have more life to you than they do. You have more experience and light than they do. Drawing you in black and white doesn't suit you at all. You need colour because that's what you bring to the world around you. Especially when you smile or laugh."

That very same smile now graced his lovely face.

Jean smirked. "Just like that."

Armin hummed at this and dared to look over at the taller teen in admiration. "Well… thank you. I've… I've never been complimented like that before. Not where the words didn't end in 'let's get it on'."

Jean couldn't help the laugh at such a true – however repulsive – thing. Some of the men here really needed to put a cork in it. Quite literally.

The golden eyed boy lifted a tentative hand to the boy's face and brushed his hair behind his ear. "You deserve better treatment than that. And I'm really glad I stopped that ass-hat from bothering you. What a waste of human life."

Armin's smile widened. "Thank you again."

Another bout of silence filled the room but this time it wasn't as awkward. This time, it was peaceful and nice. It made everything around them seem less important than what was in front of the other.

The blonde boy looked over to his bed and sighed sadly, ending the peaceful silence. "I should... err... go to bed. I'll read tomorrow morning since it's our break day."

Jean sat up a bit more to look him in the eye. "Why not just stay up and talk? You always got something interesting to say."

Armin's face tinged pink once again. "Not always. Sometimes I think I talk too much about nothing."

"Armin, if you talk too much, then Eren and I have become best friends!" He joked. "Honestly, when have you ever talked too much?! I can usually never get you to speak at all!"

The blonde shrugged. "Ask me about the outside world once in a while and I'll sing like a dove."

"I'll hold you to that!" He promised. "I'd like your opinion on it anyhow. I've never really read anything about the outside world."

"That's because it's illegal to have anything to do with what's outside the walls. It's not exactly something the King wants us to talk about lest we revolt and cause him to lose control over his territory. It's kind of pathetic really, but it's the world we live in."

Jean gave a short laugh at this and smirked at the boy. "Tell you what, tomorrow we hang out for the entire day and you tell me all you know about what's outside the walls. I'll let you bitch and complain about anything you want while you do so as well!"

The blonde shook with laughter and looked up into the teen's golden eyes. "Thanks, but I have plans with Eren and Mikasa. Maybe another time?"

"It's a date!" He announced happily, not thinking for a moment about his word choice and successfully making Armin blush.

When he noticed this, his own face reddened and he looked away with a grin. "I mean… we don't… I… what I meant was…"

He was responded to with a quick peck on the lips by the blonde before he nervously looked back at the ground, hair covering his reddening face.

"It's a date." Came the small reply.

Jean was stunned into silence. He'd barely had time to register the fact that Armin had indeed kissed him, but even less time to realize the two had just agreed on having a date together. It had just… happened.

The boy went to stand up but Jean took hold of his hand before he could leave.

With a bout of confidence, he gently pulled the boy back down to his side and cupped his face in his hand, making Armin look up at him with his reddened face and hopeful eyes. Jean didn't know how long he'd been hiding his feelings for him, but he wasn't going to let the blonde go without a proper kiss.

Jean rested his forehead on Armin's. "If you're going to kiss and run, at least make it count."

He leaned in and connected their lips, making Armin pause in his place for a split second before melting into the kiss with a soft moan. Truth be told this was a first for both of them, with Jean never having kissed a male and Armin never having kissed anyone at all, but each found it to be the best thing to have ever happened to the two. The soft skin of Armin's lips made Jean deepen it further, and Jean's rough calloused hands being ever so gentle to Armin's slender form made the blonde relax more and more into the embrace.

Jean's hand slid into the crook of Armin's neck and shoulder as they broke apart for air and the teen slid his lips to Armin's neck instead.

"God, you're beautiful." He whispered to him.

Before Armin could make a sarcastic remark about how Jean was just fueled by hormones, they both heard the chatter of other cadets making their way over to the barracks.

Jean broke away from Armin completely and looked over to the blonde in worry.

"Armin, can we please not say a thing to anyone about this… thing that we started?"

The blonde blinked and his eyes became sombre, making Jean feel terrible for asking.

The voices came closer.

Jean took the blonde's hand and kissed it tenderly. "Armin, I really want us to start something. But… it's not exactly looked highly upon for two guys to be together. I just… I don't want you and I to be laughed at or shunned for us being together. That doesn't mean anything about how I feel about you, but how they feel about us. And besides, Yeager would have a hissy fit if he knew, and I know Mikasa would castrate me if she found out!"

The blonde couldn't help the small chuckle at that. "At least you'd live."

"But I would not live well." He joked.

The voices drew nearer.

Armin nodded. "Okay… I won't say or do a thing out of line." He then grinned. "Meet back here tomorrow after dinner an hour early to make up a plan?"

Jean happily kissed the boy's cheek at this. "Can't wait!"

The door handle jiggled and Armin immediately made for his bed. Thankfully it wasn't too far and he managed to slide in under his covers right as the door opened. Luck be with them that they'd been fast since it'd been Eren to enter the barracks first and look at the two in hopes to see if anything had gone wrong.

"Are you okay, Armin?" The brunette asked his friend but glaring at Jean.

The boy nodded. "Never better."

Jean scoffed. "Told you I'd take care of him."

The two glanced at each other and Armin had to fight away the blush as the taller teen winked at him.

Eren growled angrily as he climbed up to his bunk. "Good. I'd have ripped out your lungs if Armin had been hurt in any way, shape, or form."

Jean only scoffed again. "I'm more afraid of Mikasa than you, Yeager." He said as he turned over. "Now go to sleep, mother hen."

Armin chuckled at this and looked up at Eren's bunk. "You really do act like Mikasa to me some days."

Eren glanced over the bunk. "I am NOTHING like Mikasa!"

Armin curled into his covers with a bright smile on his face. "Whatever you say, Eren."

For the first time in months, Armin would finally go to sleep with a smile on his face. And somehow, he knew Jean would do the same. Tomorrow they'd wake up and meet each other in secret to plan out a date and just be together as a couple.

Somehow, Armin believed this hidden relationship would be fun.