A/N: I've decided after three prompts to switch the character perspective. So, after this one, is going to be Armin for the next three, then Christa/Historia for another three, and so on and so forth. Hope you enjoy! ^^
It starts like any other day, waking up to start their drills, go through the rigorous training that the instructors threw at them, and then the rest of the evening and night to spend among their peers or train before they tuck in to begin the next day in the same cycle.
Of course, there's always something new that throws itself during those moments when the cadets group up together.
Like now, with Mina and Thomas grabbing their friends to hang around the library (one of the few spots where they can all hang out without the other cadets bothering them) to talk or study. But mostly study, as the next few days are all the written tests from their classes that they have to go through.
Somehow or another, they've managed to get Armin, the most sought after person during these moments, to be strictly their tutor for the next few days. Christa's not sure how they did it, but she can only guess that it has something to do with the way Mikasa and Eren are here, as those two typically study in the more secluded areas. Annie, too, as the small blonde sees her fellow blonde in the corner with Bertholdt and Reiner, all three hitting the books just as the rest of them. Mina sits with her, Ymir, and Sasha as they thumb through the books. On another table close to theirs are the boys, with Connie and Thomas sitting on either side of Armin as he helps them through their studies, while Marco and Jean work together; Mikasa and Eren sit between Marco and Thomas, doing their own, separate studies.
Every so often, Armin would split his attention from the two boys to the table of girls and ask if they need help. Ymir, as blunt as she always is, would respond each time that she was fine and had Christa to help her (which always causes so much exasperation and fondness in her because her friend was just too much sometimes), while Mina and Sasha always jump and flag him down to their table.
It's interesting, watching him between her studies and helping Ymir with her own. The way he explains everything is simple and easy to follow, and, if someone still didn't manage to understand the topic, he seems to always find a way to change his wording to fit exactly what the person he talks to needs to hear in order to get it. Christa has always admired how smart he is, always wished she could be able to handle these studies as easily as he does, but to see him like this, walking back and forth and helping their friends with such an easy, soft smile and kind, bright eyes, it's enough to put him in a different light in her mind.
"If you stare long enough, he might actually look this way."
The bored tone that held an undercurrent of amusement snaps her out of her trance and she realizes that she's been staring at Armin as he goes through another problem with Connie and Thomas. She takes a quick look around, sees that none of their friends are paying her any attention and are too focused on their work, and turns to Ymir, who raises a brow at her as soon as their eyes meet.
"Wh-what are you talking about," she stutters, speaks softly as she tries desperately to fight the blush that creeps its way onto her cheeks.
Ymir glances at the table Armin sits at, then focuses her attention on her. "You've been staring at him for a good solid…" She looks at the clock hanging by the wall. "Four minu–actually, make that five."
She blinks, surprised, then quickly does damage control. "I was just interested in what he was saying," she defends, tries to keep her voice steady, but she winces inwardly at the slight waver that hits her tone by the end of her sentence. Judging from the pointed look Ymir gives her, Christa already knows that her friend did not believe her. At all.
"Yeah and Eren's not oblivious to Mikasa's feelings," her friend quips, sharp and fast and Christa visibly winces. Okay, so maybe she didn't do a good job of trying to defend herself, at least, against her friend, but there's no way she can perfectly explain herself!
"Oh, what's going on here?" Mina's curious tone and the way she leans into her space causes Christa to start in surprise and quickly whip her attention to face the black-haired girl. Her eyes glitter with interest and, beside her, Sasha stares at them with wide eyes.
"N-nothin—" a hand on her head pushes her head down and causes her to stop speaking.
"Christa's been staring at your guys' tutor for about six minutes," Ymir nonchalantly answers, tone bored, but the amusement is clear as day for Christa to pick up on.
Mina's and Sasha's eyes widen in surprise and they take a quick glance at each other, then over at the table with the boys (no doubt to double check on Armin and the others) before focusing back on Christa and Ymir.
"I need to hear this," Mina whispers, excited with a wide smile on her lips.
"There's nothing to hear," Christa immediately responds, turns away from her friends to her books. "Let's get back to studying!"
As she focuses her attention solely on the textbooks, she doesn't miss the way her three friends whisper to each other. Unfortunately, they've managed to keep their whispers away from her ears and, even though she wants to know what they're up to, she also knows that this written exam was going to be one of their worst ones yet. She decides to put her curiosity to the wayside—she doubts that they'll be able to keep their mischief to themselves for too long.
Christa gets into the rhythm of studying, going from one textbook to another and keeping tabs on things she runs into that she doesn't seem to understand, but can get to later once she gets through the ones that she does know. She's so focused that she doesn't notice the shifting and movement that happens beside her on one side, nor the light giggling on the other.
Then: "Which ones are you having trouble with?" Curious, soft, yet helpful and kind is the voice that reaches her in her study haze.
She hums, not looking away from the paragraph that she reads as she lightly moves the paper she is using to write her inquiries on. "There's a few things on here that I don't fully understand—wait…" The voice, the slight quietness at her table that is abnormal with Sasha sitting with them, and the way she doesn't hear Ymir's usual snark is sounding the alarm bells. "Wha…?" Raising her gaze from her textbook, she faces a darker blue gaze and a sheepish smile on a boyish face framed with darker blonde hair.
Over Armin's shoulder, she spots Ymir hiding horribly behind her studying and she doesn't have to turn around to see Mina and Sasha probably doing the same thing.
Armin chuckles weakly, yet it's endearing somehow and causes her heart to beat faster. "Ymir motioned me over," he says, though he's whispering it so lowly that only the two of them can hear. "I didn't want to jump to conclusions and she just pointed me to sit here and went and did her own studying, so…" And the way his cheeks flush in shyness is absolutely adorable and she has to wonder if she looks just like this whenever she blushes. (It's a common thing for people to mistake the two small blondes as the other.)
"I-I see…" Are her cheeks red? Probably, she doesn't doubt it considering she can feel how hot her face is getting and she knows that it can't be because of how hot it is in the room. "Uhm… I didn't want to bother you from the others…" The sentence is whispered lowly, hopefully quiet enough that she prays the boy didn't hear her.
But she's never been that lucky.
Armin's expression softens, which brings out more of his boyish charm that she's starting to appreciate looking at. "You're not bothering at all," he assures, rests his hand on top of her own that she has left lying on her textbook. This action causes her face to heat up more and she really hopes that no one is paying them any attention. "That's why we're all in here—to help each other out. So, what's got you stumped? Maybe I can help!"
Her eyes glance at their hands, then she turns back to Armin and smiles shyly. "The paper," she begins, shifts so she's leaning closer towards him, their shoulders touching as she uses her other hand to point at her notes. "I wrote all the ones I didn't quite understand."
The grin that spreads on his lips is nice and the way his eyes glow as he begins to explain the first problem soothes her.
Movement behind him catches her eye and she spots Ymir giving her a smug, teasing look and Christa reminds herself that, later, she needs to thank her friend for this little closeness that she's given the two blondes.