A/N: I lied, it's only three chapters. :)
I was gonna make it longer, but... then I didn't. I don't know. Not in the biggest moods for writing at the moment.
But hey, I do have an extra - smutty - chapter to this that's only half-written. If anyone would like to read the forgotten chapter all you gotta do is speak up and I'll post it. But for now, it's done!
Enjoy, Review if you can, and thank you all for giving this story a read! :)
Of Puddles and Confessions
Seriously, how does a fifteen year old act so fucking cute?!
Apparently, only Armin knew the answer.
The beginning of their journey started out normally. The rain had let up a day prior, but of course it began again once they'd left the training grounds with the instructor's permission. The rain had been heavy and cold, but not as bad as it'd been the first time around. At least now they were able to see where they were going. Of course, it didn't stop the mud and water from completely recolouring their boots to a darker and less desirable brown. This didn't exactly make Jean's day better as he knew washing them would be a chore in itself…
…but his mood changed when he heard an odd splashing sound from behind him.
The first time he looked behind him, Armin was still as a post. Questioning why he'd stopped. When he thought it was nothing, he turned back and continued walking.
…
…and then another splash caught his attention.
He looked back, still the same quiet Armin and his questioning gaze.
A moment of staring into the blonde's eyes and he saw something off about them. They seemed to be shiftier than what they usually looked like, and Jean thought for a moment that Armin was hiding something from him.
He hummed at the innocent smile the boy gave him and turned back to his path.
Before even taking a few steps forward though, he turned back around and caught the guilty party of the noise red handed.
Armin had been in mid-jump when Jean turned around and immediately slipped when he noticed Jean had caught him and he landed into said puddle after being surprised.
The taller boy stifled his laugh as he helped up his companion. "Is this the only reason you wanted to join me on a hunt?"
Armin smiled nervously as he tried to brush off some mud from the seat of his pants. "Umm… no. It isn't the only reason."
The tawny haired boy sighed softly as he noticed the blonde was completely soaked now. "We should find some shelter and get you near a fire. I don't want you freezing to death while I'm out tracking a boar."
The blonde agreed to this and they both soon set off to find somewhere to set up their tent or other shelter that they could use for the moment. They weren't exactly allowed to go far since the instructors had to keep tabs on everyone, but since Jean grew up in Trost he knew the forest around it almost like the back of his hand. If he was correct, they'd come up on a cave soon enough.
And sure enough, they had.
Jean led the boy into the small cave and they dropped off their supplies. Thankfully everything had been wrapped and protected from the rain so nothing but the clothes on their backs were wet.
Armin shivered slightly as he tried to leave the cave. "I'll go find some firewood."
"No, you stay here!" Jean commanded, getting in-between the boy and the mouth of the cave. "You're shivering and soaked to the core. Stay here and try to warm up a bit. Maybe find some kindling if you can in the cavern here. I'll go out and get the firewood."
"But I…"
"Just… stay." Jean practically begged, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders. "I don't want you to get sick."
Reluctantly, Armin nodded at this and backed up into the cavern. Before Jean left to find the firewood, however, he brought out his blanket along with Armin's and cocooned him in the soft material.
The one mistake he made, however, was looking into his large blue eyes and seeing the immense gratitude behind them once he was covered in the warm blankets. Those eyes lit a fire inside Jean that was indescribable. It wasn't like an enraged type of flame, the kind reserved for his little bouts with Eren. It was a flame that said, 'I want this moment to last a lifetime'.
Unfortunately, the moment was fleeting. However much he wanted to stay there and look into those large blue orbs of Armin's, he needed to get a fire going so the poor kid didn't freeze to death.
He backed away suddenly and took a breath. "I'll be back in a moment. Try not to die."
Armin only scoffed. "'Try' being the operative word, correct?"
Jean chuckled softly. "It was just a joke, Arlert. I have full faith in you to stay alive while I'm gone."
With that, he pulled up his hood and made for the trees. It would take some time to find enough dry wood to start a fire, but after that it wouldn't matter. He urged himself to hurry though so he could get Armin some warmth before the sun went down.
An hour and a half later he'd gathered up enough wood to make a small fire in their cave. As well, he managed to find some tracks from a few animals in the area. Some were bigger than what he'd been aiming for, like the heavy buck he'd have to say goodbye to due to restrictions in his party. But there were a few he'd be able to take down and bring back. He settled on going after the fox since the tracks it'd left were closer to his cave.
He entered into the cavern and found the blonde boy shivering as he set up a small kindling pit. At this, Jean got worried.
He dropped the logs and sticks next to his gear and ran to Armin's side, taking his hands and noting to himself how cold they were.
The taller boy grumbled in both worry and fear. "Take off your clothes."
Armin immediately took an offence to this and backed away, covering his chest with the blanket. "W-what!"
"You're freezing cold and it's because you're in wet clothes." Jean explained. "You need to strip down and dry out your uniform."
"O-oh…" came the stuttered, embarrassed reply. "R-right… I'm sorry. I…"
Jean pat his shoulder positively. "It's fine. Just be sure to keep the blankets around you until you aren't shivering anymore. I'll get the fire going."
The blonde nodded as he started on his clothes, giving Jean the go ahead to get the fire going right away so the boy could warm up.
It took a few strikes of his flint, and some not so subtle cusses from Jean, but in no time the spark took and a flame came to life. Once sticks and logs were added onto it, it became a roaring and heat-filled fire that warmed the entire cave in no time. With this, Armin's clothes should be dried in no time.
Until then…
Jean made another mistake that evening and looked back to find the blonde clad in nothing but his standard issue boxers as he placed his clothes carefully by the fire so they wouldn't be hit by any flying sparks while still getting dried by the heat. For the first time since meeting the blonde, Jean had full view of Armin's entire body…
…and it was making the internal flame that much harder to ignore.
However the hell this blonde managed to keep his skin presentable and perfect-looking was beyond Jean's thoughts. He saw no scars, no scratches, and barely any bruises despite the past few days where he nervously – and constantly – tripped over his own feet. And, even despite his small stature, the boy had some muscle to him. None that you could see when they were covered by that heavy jacket and boots, but a toned physique you could clearly see were you to get this rare bareness from him. Which wasn't often mind you since the boy changed under the covers most times, or lightning fast so no one could see him.
At the moment however, his cold body was slowing him down. Which made the amazing sight last longer than it would have back at the barracks.
The boy quickly covered himself with the blanket and turned to face Jean who'd quickly snapped his attention back at the fire.
He looked up nonchalantly at the blonde, as if he wasn't just checking out the pale angel just a moment ago. "Better?"
He nodded as he sat beside the taller teen. "Slightly… but at least I'm not shaking."
Jean put a tentative hand on the boy's shoulder blade and softly rubbed his back. "Just stay by the fire and in the blankets. You should be alright by tomorrow morning."
The blonde hummed at the soothing gesture and lay his head on the teen's shoulder, making Jean jolt slightly at the sudden affection. "Thank you."
Jean paused his movements altogether now as he looked down at the frozen angel cuddling into him. Soon, his hand moved across his back and onto his shoulder to pull him in slightly and making the taller boy's lips curl into a gentle smile.
"No problem."
It was a few moments of silence before Armin dug his face into the crook of Jean's neck and took a sniff.
He pulled back slightly and looked up at Jean. "So you were the one to take my soap!"
The taller boy smiled innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Armin's lips puffed into a pout, effectively making Jean blush at the rather adorable sight. Did Armin seriously think he was menacing? Him?
Jean chuckled softly as he pulled Armin back into the warmth. "Okay, I admit it. I took your special soap. But I had a good reason…"
"I blamed Eren for it." He growled at the teen, allowing himself to be enraptured in his warmth. "I owe him a huge apology thanks to you!"
"Is that why you two weren't speaking to each other today?" Jean asked, rather bemused by what he'd unintentionally started.
Armin didn't answer. He just looked up at the brunette and asked, "Why'd you take it?"
Jean felt his cheeks go hot as he scratched behind his head. "Well, like I said, it smelled like the lilies my mother used to place around her house. It made me think of home. I saw you had two bars, so I… helped myself."
"You stole my property." Armin reiterated.
Jean smiled sheepishly. "I did… and I'm sorry. Tell you what, I'll take you into Trost and get you as many bars as you want. We'll smuggle them in past Shadis and you can be the best smelling boy in camp again!"
The blonde glared up at him with his puppy eyes, Jean more-so fazed by the adorable effect than the 'menacing' one, before he huffed and made a slight grin.
"That, and you buy me some fresh bread. The stuff served to us is so stale I think a rock is permanently formed in my stomach from eating so much of it."
"Deal." The taller agreed before throwing in another log to the fire. "Sorry again, by the way. I hope you know I planned on replacing it anyway."
The boy hummed and curled into the blankets a bit more. "It's alright, I guess. I just… it made me upset to see one gone. It's why I was mad at Eren and blamed him. Only he knew about them besides you, and he knew how important it was to me."
"A bar of soap?" The brunette questioned.
Armin's blue eyes met his golden ones. "It's not the soap. It's the smell. It reminded me of my mother… of when she was closer to me… before…"
His eyes began watering up slightly and Jean immediately regretted taking the boy's possession.
"Geez, Armin, I'm so sorry!" He exclaimed apologetically, moving away from the boy to look him in the eye. "I should have never taken that bar! I'm such an idiot! Of course you should be mad! God what an absolute moron I am!"
He continued on with self-insults and curses until Armin stopped him with a gentle hand on his cheek. His sombre blue orbs slowly returning to happier ones. The sudden touch setting Jean's skin hot and tingling, while his eyes made his heart quake and his breath hitch in his throat.
"It's alright, Jean." He spoke softly. "I know you must miss home too. And I'm glad you loved the scent enough to get your own, however unethical your ways of getting it were."
The brunette shook his head solemnly. "It was wrong of me to do something like that. Especially…" he trailed off at this, not wanting Armin to know his real feelings just yet.
Of course, this didn't go unnoticed by the blonde. "Especially…?"
He glanced up at the boy and quickly looked away, removing the boy's hand from his face. "Err… especially now… what with the hunt and everything. How am I expected to have trust you when you can't even have trust me, correct?"
Armin hummed once again at his words and cuddled in closer to the teen for warmth. "I suppose you're right. But then, if I really couldn't trust you… you wouldn't have saved me from the cold like you did. You would've let me shiver and freeze in my wet clothes." He chuckled lightly before turning to look into Jean's eyes. "Or was that just a ruse to get me half-naked?"
The blush on Jean's cheeks deepened at that question and Armin had his answer.
"I see…"
"N-no! No! I… you were freezing!" The teen reasoned. "You were soaked…!"
"Because I 'fell' into a puddle." He repeated to him calmly, a sly smirk on his face.
Jean felt his own face fall. "You… you did that on purpose?"
"I had a hunch that had been nagging me for days. Its name was 'Eren'. He kept saying things like you were ogling over me or that you had other intentions for this whole hunting expedition. I aimed to prove him wrong."
Jean now felt his entire body go hot at the sudden realization that he'd been outed thanks to his own facial features failing him from keeping a steel expression. And if Eren noticed this about him, then it was most certain that Armin knew.
Jean hid his face in his left hand as the boy giggled slightly. "I'm gonna kill that kid."
"So… is that a confirmation on your feelings towards me?" The blonde asked.
Jean only grumbled to himself before looking up at the boy with a smirk. "Tell you what… I'll tell you how I feel about you, if you give me a confirmation on your own feelings about me."
The blonde looked him up and down for a moment before smiling at the boy.
"My feelings towards you are no different than they were when I first got to know you. You're smart, handsome, incredibly talented, and I've wanted you to notice me for a long time coming. However, I gave up on that thought when I saw you ogling Mikasa." He looked away then and began tracing circles on the ground, his voice lowering to that which was close to a whisper. "And why wouldn't you ogle her? She's beautiful, talented, smart, and loyal. She's everyone's favourite."
Jean felt his heart clench at this and he hummed at the words. "She is, isn't she..." He then laughed softly at the thought of his own feelings. "But she's got one flaw in her that made me think otherwise. The one thing missing from her that you have more of in your little finger than she has in her entire being."
Armin looked up at the teen in wonder. "And… what might that be?"
Jean took the chance and leaned in to press his lips against the blonde's, feeling his very being numb over in delight and ecstasy. Armin himself had stilled for a moment before relaxing into the kiss and snaking his hands up and into Jean's hair as the taller teen pulled him in from the small of his back, dragging him into his lap where the blanket fell from his shoulders and onto the cave floor. This moment more passionate and intense the longer they stayed connected.
Once they broke apart for air, Jean answered him breathlessly.
"Personality."
Armin's cold hands gripped at the collar of his shirt as his cheeks turned red. "N-no… I don't…"
Jean silenced him with a kiss, breaking it off only to shower him in kind words and small pecks wherever his lips could lay them.
"Armin, you have no idea how beautiful you really are. When you talk about something interesting to you, or when you get excited over the smaller things. Every time your eyes light up and your smile shines through those nervous lips, it sends my entire being into chaos." He placed gentle kisses on his jawline and neck now. "Mikasa is beautiful, but you are fucking stunning! Your eyes put the stars you love so much to shame, your smile makes the daylight wish it was as bright as such. And don't even get me started on how fucking adorable you are because blondie…" he trailed off, looking up into those bright orbs he loved so much, "…I just don't have the years to tell you."
Each passing remark, each soft and well-placed kiss, was making Armin blush more and more under his touch. But with each word came a new feeling in Armin's chest that no one could else could make him feel.
The blonde smiled down at his lover and rested his forehead atop of the one below. "Is this your admission to liking me?"
Jean's lips curled into a smile. "Only if you like what I said."
Armin answered with a chaste kiss before breaking away and humming.
"I loved every word."
The taller teen chuckled slightly as he leaned back all the way until he was lying down on the cave floor and holding Arin close to his chest, feeling the blonde cuddle into him lovingly.
"I suppose this means you're all mine now." Jean said happily. "I wonder just how much Eren is going to hate me for snatching you up."
Armin only hummed. "Don't start anything when we get back please. We still have a few days out here anyway. Let's just enjoy it."
The taller teen then looked outside to see that the rain had stopped fully and completely. The mood now shining light into the cave.
"We could go stargazing." He suggested. "That seems like a fun first date thing to do."
Another hum from the blonde as he snuggled in closer. "When I'm warmed up."
Jean only scoffed at this. "Like you didn't get hot and flustered during that kiss."
A light smack to his side was the boy's response as he fell into slumber atop the teenager. The two perfectly comfortable with where they were for the night. Come morning they'd have to separate and go out looking for animals to catch. But for now…
…for now, they were comfortable.
Jean hummed to himself. 'Best rainy day, ever.'
