Continuing from the last chapter…
(6)
"He's been gone too long." Jean was sitting as close to the fire as he dared. He wasn't sure how much time has passed really, but it felt like too long. The hole in the top of the cave had long since been buried under the snow, but he could hear the wind howling outside. He shivered.
"He's probably getting extra so we don't have to go out again right away." Annie's tone was cool, but he thought he could detect a slight hint of worry. She was reading Armin's book again, but he had nothing to do. Every moment was agony.
"The storm sounds worse." Jean paused for a moment and looked over at Annie. He didn't miss that her hand was trembling as she turned to the next page. "What if he's lost?"
"The horses know their way back here. They are trained for that."
Jean scowled. "I'm going after him." He made to climb to his feet but his leg buckled beneath him. It was almost impossible for him to put any weight on it at the best of times. It had been hurting worse for a few hours, but he'd kept silent. There was nothing they could do.
Annie was pulling him to his feet. He accepted her help, but grunted when she shoved him back down by the fire. "You aren't going anywhere. You can't even walk. How are you going to fight through the snow just to get to the horses? I'll go." She stood and slipped into her jacket before reattaching her gear. They never left without it. "Give me your jacket. I'll need the extra layers..."
He didn't argue. The worn leather was beside him, so he picked it up and tossed it over to her. "Armin took my cloak..."
"He probably should have taken your jacket too." Annie was swallowed up in his larger jacket, but she tucked it around herself as best as she could. "I'll be back in two hours, whether I find him or not." He nodded. Any longer out there and she would be risking her life.
He couldn't put into words how badly he wanted to join her out there. He didn't care that it was freezing and the snow could kill him in just a few hours. Armin was probably freezing to death and he was stuck in this warm cave. He cursed himself.
There was nothing for him to do but gnaw at the inside of his cheek while his stomach clenched with worry. Every noise made him jump. He was repeating the same mantra over and over: Please let that be them. But it wasn't.
He'd boiled down plenty of snow and filled every container they had for when they returned. The meager soup Annie had created from the boney rabbits was waiting too. He'd hobble here or there, using an old gnarled stick Annie had found for him the day before. Even with the stick, moving around the cave was difficult. He just kept hoping that he'd hear Annie shout down that she'd found Armin…
When the shout finally came, he was beside himself. He hobbled up higher in the cave as fast as he could manage, but Annie had beaten him. She was dragging Armin along like a rag doll, gripping him as well as she could manage. He tried to help, but she just shoved him away.
"Go… get something… I don't know." Her eyes were narrowed.
"He's blue…" Jean breathed. He was stunned for a moment. Annie just shuffled by him on her way to the lower level. On the one hand, she'd managed to find Armin. On the other… it might already be too late for him. Jean cursed himself and limped and hopped as fast as he could after Annie.
"Help me get him into the tent." Annie didn't look great, either. The snow in her hair wasn't quite melting and she was shaking all over. Jean grabbed Armin's other side and they dragged him over to the tent. Jean crept inside first and pulled Armin in after Annie pulled away both snow-covered cloaks. "T-try b-b-body heat." She was shivering worse now.
Jean felt his face flush for only a moment. Annie's look had caused it more than the notion of what he had to do next. She looked… almost jealous. He cursed himself for not thinking of that himself, but wasted no time. Before Armin's wet clothes could soak into the sleeping bags, he yanked off his jacket, then started pulling at the straps for his gear. He vaguely wondered where the rest of the assembly was, but figured Annie had probably left it at the entrance so she could carry him. Armin's boots and socks were next. Every time Jean brushed against a patch of Armin's skin, he frowned. Every inch of him felt like ice.
How could Armin be so damn wet? The pale green shirt he'd worn for so long was plastered to his skin and the white pants were almost see-through. He cursed the snow over and over as he pulled at buttons and the dripping cloth. One he was down to nothing but his underwear, Jean pulled him close to his chest and grabbed the sleeping bags to cover them both.
It wasn't until they were still that he noticed how slow Armin's breathing and heart rate were. He started rubbing Armin's skin where he could reach, fighting to remember what he could about warming someone up. He couldn't think of anything else, though, so he just waited.
Annie opened the tent after a while and crawled inside. She'd shed her layers, too, and curled up at the end of the tent with a part of the sleeping bag. It was odd, seeing her sitting there in just a thin undershirt and her panties, but Jean couldn't bring himself to even consider anything more. She was shivering still, but Armin's heart rate hadn't even started to increase yet. It was dull and slow, but he could feel it. That slow and steady rhythm was the only thing that kept him from panicking.
When Annie's shivering subsided, she sighed. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you should strip too. Skin lets off heat. Your skin is blocked by your clothes." Jean frowned hard, but nodded. Annie squirmed her way closer and sat beside Jean. They shifted Armin as gently as they could to her grasp for just long enough to allow Jean to shed his own clothes. He was glad that he didn't have any of the straps of his gear to worry about. He hadn't felt the need to wear any of it since he couldn't even walk.
"We should lay down," Jean suggested. He'd noticed Annie's eyes falling shut every few seconds. She'd snap them open and shake herself to try and stay awake, but she was failing at it. She just nodded. For a while, there was more squirming. The tent really wasn't large enough for the three of them, but with Armin squished between them and both of their arms wrapped around him, they managed.
Annie was asleep in seconds, but Jean couldn't even shut his eyes. He wanted to laugh at how bizarre the whole situation was, but couldn't. He, Armin, and Annie were all basically naked and laying so close together that he could hardly tell where one of them ended and the other began. Armin was on his side, with his face at Jean's neck and Annie curled against his back. Between them, he was warming up faster.
When Armin's shivering started, Jean shifted a little to hold him tighter, hoping it would help. Annie didn't budge. He wondered how much effort it had taken her to find Armin and get him into the cave. Sure, she was strong, but she wasn't Mikasa. Besides, they'd all lost so much weight from their poor diet that he wondered if she hadn't lost just as much muscle tone as well. He knew he had. Just getting Armin into the tent and out of his wet clothes had taken almost all of his strength.
When Armin's shivering stopped, Jean felt his fingers clenching around his arm. He tried to move a little to give Armin more room, but when Armin shifted to stay closer, Jean stopped moving. He felt himself turning pink again. Armin was muttering something into his neck, his cold lips and nose brushing against Jean's flushed skin.
"Am I dead now?" The question startled Jean. His eyebrows furrowed and he craned his neck to look down at Armin. His eyes were half-open but unfocused.
"No."
"But I'm warm." Armin's fingers dug into his arm again.
"Annie found you and brought you back." He wondered if Armin even realized he was speaking.
"Jean?"
"Yeah?" He held his breath for a moment, wondering what would come next.
"You're warm…" Armin's face was buried in Jean's neck once more. Just when Jean thought he was asleep, Armin squirmed again, trying to curl up but unable to due to the lack of space between Jean and Annie.
"Stop moving." Annie's groan came just before she pulled away from Armin and turned over, curling into her own tiny ball, their backs barely touching now. "Shut up and go back to sleep."
Jean smiled. The three of them had faced so much in the last few days, yet they were still alive. With any luck, Shadis would be back tomorrow to take them all back to Trost. He could see it now, all the awkward looks and muttered apologies between them that would probably come. Then again, maybe they would just forget about it. After all, there was always something else to do, something more to learn.
"Jean…" Armin whispered. Jean tried to bring his head back to look down at Armin once more, but he just hit his head on a rock instead.
"What is it?"
"Don't let me go,"
Jean flushed pink again. "I-I won't."
After that, Armin fell quiet and still once more. Between the warmth and the stress from earlier, Jean found himself yawning. He squeezed Armin tightly once more before closing his eyes to sleep.
Can I say I fan-girl squealed like the entire time I was writing this? Ha… I'm a weirdo. :p
