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Rowboat Girlyman 1: Well, I am writing for a pretty rare pair, so I'm not surprised that it hasn't gotten reviews. x'D And, thank you! I'll do my best! Happy reading! ^^

Christa Lenz. Historia Reiss.

Those are the two names that shuffle through his mind as he follows Eren's advice on getting their new hideout cleaned up for their new Captain. He lowers the duster and sets it on the table before loosening the handkerchief around his face and letting it rest around his neck. One's a façade to hide the other, while one is the real one always on guard for the other one, he thinks, thoughts still racing. With everything going on he should be thinking of other things, like how to keep their group alive and hidden, maybe think more about the truth of Titans, or even Bertholdt or Reiner, but he keeps circling back to Christa—no, to Historia's true name.

And, with it, who she really is.

Which stumps him more than anything else that's happened to him in the past five years. The past three betrayals still sting, and will probably never heal correctly, so he should find this fourth one to be just as painful. Yet, he doesn't—he finds it more sad than anything. To be forced to hide yourself and not allow yourself to be who you really are… He can't imagine it. With the Titan Shifters it was easy for them to be themselves and omit lies to cover their bases, but in Historia's case it was a complete erasure of who she is.

"We got the back rooms cleared out!" Connie's gleeful entrance snaps him out of his thoughts and he looks over to see Connie, Sasha, and Historia walk out, all three removing their handkerchiefs; Connie grinning widely with Sasha holding back a yawn. Historia…she looks just as expressionless as she had been when they got here, which causes something in him to twist painfully at that, having paired her features with a gentle smile and bright eyes.

Eren comes up beside him, broom in hand. "You sure you got everything in there," he asks, a stress in his tone that causes the corner of Armin's lip to quirk up in amusement. It has been a while since he's last heard his friend sound like that and he quietly steps to the side as Eren marches up to Connie and Sasha.

"Of course!" Connie defends, confident and brash and, Walls, he hasn't heard the boy sound like that in a while.

"We got front and back and back and front," Sasha agrees, shaking her head to dispel whatever drowsiness still clings to her.

Eren huffs, eyes narrowing in focus, and Armin raises a fist to fake a cough in order to hide his laughter. "Come on you two—we're going to check your work." He's halfway down the hall with the two troublemakers when he calls out to the blonde boy, "Armin, can you get the windowsills and the rest of the tables? Have Historia help you."

The amusement suddenly chills down to anxiety and he swallows, forces his body to not flinch at the command.

"R-right," he calls back quickly, wincing inwardly at how shaky his voice sounds. He just hopes that his new companion in cleaning chalks it up to him being his usual self. However, when he takes a quick glance over at the blonde girl, she's already wiping down one of the tables, eyes dull and focused on her work.

He fights back a sigh, realizes that this might be a bit more awkward on his side than her own just from the difference in demeanor he can see.

You're bad enough with social interaction, time to test your skills on this, Arlert, he thinks sarcastically. Then again, who in this damn group that is left of the 104th was great in social interaction anyway?

…Maybe Connie on a good day.

As he wipes down the windowsill closest to the table that Historia is cleaning up, he raises his head to stare out the glass panes. Only to freeze upon seeing black eyes stare back at him intently. These eyes rest on the narrow face of a young doe, one Armin didn't think he'd see unless he was out past Wall Maria.

"Historia," he breathes out, hoping to catch her attention as he doesn't think he could look away from the animal. The doe seems to share similar thoughts to him, for she tilts her head slightly to the side before taking a few, cautious steps forward. "Historia, you need to see this."

It takes a few seconds (a few seconds too long for his liking) before he feels her presence beside him. As it took the shorter girl time to get to his side, the doe finishes her walk up to the window, hovers a few distance away in caution upon noticing the newcomer. Letting out a low exhale, he glances down and sees Historia staring in shock at the mammal, almost as if she couldn't believe that the creature exists.

It's the first time he's seen a genuine expression on her features that wasn't dull or lifeless and, for some odd reason, he wants to keep her from ever having to go back to being like that. Carefully and slowly, he raises his hand and places it on the window, grips it lightly, then pushes it open.

The doe snaps her attention back to him and he stops quickly, keeps himself frozen as the doe surveys him. Beside him, Historia watches him with a shine in her eyes he hasn't seen since their excursion into Wall Maria, which ended in a partial win and failure. Ever so slowly, he lets go of the window and retracts his hand to rest on the sill, glad he managed to get the window open about halfway to at least allow their arms to reach out.

Tilting her head, the doe takes a few more cautious steps forward, watching the two blondes and, soon, she stands before them, nose up against the window and sniffing it, her ears flicking.

A soft sound emits from his side and Armin can't stop the smile from spreading on his features as he catches sight of the excitement in Historia's eyes and the way her lips seem to curl into a soft smile. It's no doubt the only time she'll feel happy and, dammit if he's not going to make sure that she has something to feel giddy about.

Cautiously, Armin moves his hand from the windowsill outwards, keeps an eye on the doe as she stops her nosing of the area to watch his hand wearily. He stops once his hand is close enough to the creature and he lets it hang there, keeps the creature's focus on it as he uses his other hand to gently reach for Historia's own.

"What are you doing," she asks him in a whisper so soft he didn't think he'd have been able to hear it if not for how quiet everything around them seems to be.

"Preparing," he whispers back, grinning when the doe seems to acknowledge that he's no threat and bumps her nose against his hand, then gives his fingers a few licks. He chuckles lowly, feels content and happier in this one moment than he has in the past five years after Wall Maria's fall. He gently pets the doe's snout, gives it a few scratches before he uses his other hand to guide Historia's. "Come on—she's going to love you more than me, I bet."

The shorter blonde throws him a pointed look, but he just nods in the creature's direction in retort. Breathing out slowly, Historia turns her attention back on the doe and follows his earlier example.

It's an immediate distraction. The doe turns her attention from his petting to focus on Historia's hand and, as opposed to what she did earlier, the doe quickly shoves her snout into the girl's hand, a small sound emitting from her as she pushes her snout more into the small hand resting on it.

Historia makes an adorable squeak of surprise and he quickly places a hand on the small of her back to steady her as she slightly moves back in her shock.

"Told you," he softly says, amused as he watches Historia pet the doe carefully and expertly, almost as if she's done this before.

"What made you so sure," Historia asks him. Her tone isn't clipped or low like it was when she explained herself to them; it's light, almost airy, but there's still something in it that tells him this will be a long, uphill battle.

He finds he doesn't mind it. "You've always been good with animals." He makes sure to tighten his grip on her clothes when he feels her tense. He knew what he was getting into with those words, knows that he's not very good at being a solid base of comfort for someone, but, like everything else he's done, he's quick on his feet.

Even though she's still giving the doe gentle scratches and pets, the air around her is icy. "Don't act like you know me." Her tone is different, too, but he already expected it.

"You're right—I don't." And, like he expected, his admittance is probably something she hadn't anticipated. "I want to, though. To get to know you."

"...It's not like I even know me." Her admittance is quiet, soft—defeated.

His grip on her clothes tighten subconsciously as he breathes out shakily. That won't do. Not at all.

The doe steps closer, presses more against Historia's palm as the creature rests itself against the window and Armin takes this chance to look down at her, only to be met with her staring up at him with a sullen look.

But there's still a shine in her eyes and he'll keep that there for as long as he can in the moments they have here.

"Then why don't we learn together?"

Her expression shifts, disbelief and something else now showing itself.

He smiles. "I can start—you were raised on farmlands, taking care of animals. No matter who you are, or who you try and portray yourself to be, that part of you isn't going to go away." He nods to the doe, who seems all too happy with the shorter blonde's constant attention. "Exhibit A: she completely ignored me as soon as you showed up." The way she's looking at him makes him nervous, causes something in him to somersault. He's not sure whether it's his nerves or the fact that she can probably kick his ass, but it could possibly be both. "You'll always have some sway with animals, Historia."

She continues to stare at him, which causes him to shift in his spot nervously, unsure on what type of emotion is showing itself on her features. He wonders if he should start preparing himself for the asskicking he no doubt deserves, when he watches her expression soften; there's a new shine in her eyes and her lips pull up into a small, shy smile and, for a brief moment, he forgets to breathe.

"You're honest," she says, finally breaking the tense silence between them. She looks away, her soft look still on her features. "At least, I know you're always telling the truth."

Swallowing, he agrees, turns back to the doe, only to blink in surprise at the fact that the doe has now stuck her head into the house, nuzzling her face against Historia's arm now, small noises leaving the creature as the shorter blonde continues to pet the mammal. The fact that the doe has found Historia to be the most comforting presence to allow herself to enter the home in this manner definitely tells him that he was correct with what he's said about her.

"She really loves you," he marvels, honestly impressed.

A light sound comes from her and it takes a moment for him to realize that she's laughing. It's soft, small, as though she's afraid to let it out. But it's there and it warms him to know that she at least feels safe enough around him to let her guard down.

"She likes you, too," Historia says and before he can try and disagree with her, she grabs his hand and places it gently on the doe's cheek, her hand over his. "See?" And, to make good on her point, she removes her own hand from the creature's cheek.

The doe, to his surprise, seems to not mind her favorite human moving away from her and, instead, nuzzles close against the new human touch. He stiffens, suddenly nervous about doing something wrong to scare this gentle being away from him.

Another light giggle sounds beside him and, damn, does it melt his heart. "Pet her, Armin."

He follows the order, still in shock at how the doe seems to find his touch enjoyable. He didn't think animals would find him as approachable as they do Historia.

And a thought hits him that causes him to laugh. He feels Historia start in surprise and makes sure to keep her in place by tightening his grip on her clothes again.

"Armin?"

"Sorry, sorry," he apologizes, a grin now spreading on his lips as he gives the doe a scratch behind her ear as an apology for his sudden loudness that startled her. She huffs, but seems to accept it as she closes her eyes and cranes her neck forward to nuzzle her face into the crook of his elbow. "I just had a sudden realization."

"...That caused you to laugh?" She's skeptical and the slight suspicion in her tone garners another round of chuckles out of him as he turns his attention from the doe back to her. Her pointed stare at him is what he expected to see and he's not disappointed to know that he's right at the way she looks at him

"Well… I couldn't help but realize that maybe this doe just thinks I'm you."

She blinks up at him as he smiles innocently down at her. Then, she narrows her eyes, puffs her cheeks out, and elbows his side. He laughs again, though can't seem to force his face from blushing at her cute display.

"We're not that similar," she grumbles, but the way her cheeks are dusted a light red is a good sign that, maybe, she's not as unapproachable as she makes herself out to be.

"Mhm. Remind me how many people always seem to mix us up?"

"...That was when we were cadets!"

"And the Scouts?"

Silence and the way her pout seems to deepen is all the answer he needs. She can't refute that some of the higher officers in the Scouts had managed to confuse the two of them in the past.

"See, she only tolerates me because we look alike," he continues, nudges his arm against the doe's head, who only leans forward as much as she can to try and rest her cheek against his bicep.

Historia diverts her attention to the creature, her pout slowly dissolving to a thoughtful look. He notices and, just as he goes to question her, she turns back to him with a small smile. "I doubt that," she muses, "she likes you because you're a kind person."

He blinks, not at all expecting those words. "H-huh…?"

She tilts her head towards him, her smile never wavering. "You're kind and honest, Armin." Historia looks away from him, and is he imagining things or do her cheeks look suspiciously red in this light? "Those are traits that I've always admired from you."

If her early words hadn't floored him, those ones do.

Her? Admire him? If nothing else, for the longest time, he's always admired her for her kindness and way of keeping everyone's spirits up. And then he remembers her situation and realizes why she says those words now of all times.

A quick look at the doe to make sure she's content where she is, then his attention is focused solely on Historia as he slides his hand from her back to gently grab her hand with his own.

Historia startles and turns to face him, surprised, but he smiles at her, squeezes her hand as he tugs her closer to him.

"You know how I said we can learn about yourself together," he asks her. At her shy nod, he continues, "I've learned something about you—you're compassionate."

Her features somber up and she looks away. "I doubt that," she mumbles.

A chuckle escapes him. "I don't."

Movement on his arm has him glancing back at the creature, who blinks at him, then turns to Historia, a whine leaving her as she reaches towards the smaller blonde. He watches as Historia immediately reacts to the sad noise, her free hand moving to gently lay on the creature's snout as she gives the doe a few scratches. He's in awe at the way she seems to understand what it is the doe wants for she takes a few steps closer with the most gentlest of expressions he's ever seen on her to leave a quick kiss on the doe's nose.

The doe licks the girl's cheek, then turns to him with the tilt of her head. He smiles, knows that she probably wouldn't understand it, but it seems that's all she wanted from him as she pulls her head out of the house, steps back from the window, then turns and trots back into the forest, tail swishing behind her.

Armin can't seem to keep his smile from leaving his face as he turns to Historia, sees that she hasn't stopped watching the doe leave if the longing and wistful look on her face is anything to go by. (She still looks breathtakingly beautiful with such a soft look on her face.)

"Compassionate," he murmurs to her softly, squeezes her hand again before letting it go as he turns away, intent to finish their tasks.

Except, he's stopped by Historia gripping his hand tightly, almost desperately so. It shocks him and he quickly turns back, startled, only to relax at the smile she gives him. Well, maybe not relax—he's more flabbergasted than anything at that gentle look being expressed towards him.

"Thank you," she says, almost too soft for him to hear.

He swallows, suddenly shy, suddenly nervous, and he opens his mouth to respond, only for the words to die in his throat when she closes the space between them and stands on the tips of her toes to place a quick kiss on his cheek. She settles back on her heels, squeezes his hand once more, then lets it go as she turns away to go back to their tasks, her hair covering her face from him.

A hand, the same one that was in her grip, raises to lay on that same cheek, and Armin can feel the heat on his palm. The only thing that confuses him, is if the heat is from her lingering kiss, or from his no doubt red face.