The days blurred into weeks during that stretch between Armin's birthday and winter break. The days got colder and the students got busier, as the teachers piled on work before the end of term.
"It's not fair." Eren complained one day in December as they were leaving school. "You'd think there would be LESS work at the end of term."
"Why would you think that?" Mikasa asked. "The teachers have to get caught up now so they can start where they're supposed to in January."
"Well, it's not our fault they got behind."
"Yes, it is." Armin said. They had made it about a block down the street when he came to a stop. "Crap."
"What's wrong?" Mikasa asked, stopping too.
"I forgot my trig book."
Eren groaned. "Really, dude? Now we have to go back?"
"Just go on without me. I'll go back by myself."
"Are you sure?" Mikasa looked at him.
"Yeah, it's fine." Armin turned back towards school.
"See you later then." Eren called as he and Mikasa walked in the opposite direction.
Armin silently cursed himself as he hurried back. It was cold as hell out. It had been snowing and everything was icy. Just miserable weather. He was hurrying up the stairs and almost made it to the top, when his foot hit an unsalted patch, and he was falling. "Oh, shit!" He exclaimed as he fell. He bounced off the pavement and the proceeded to roll down the stairs. He landed in a heap at the bottom.
He heard two different voices react to his misfortune, both of which sounded familiar. "Oh, shit dude!" A male voice exclaimed.
"Oh my goodness! Are you okay?" A sweet feminine voice called. Hands helped him roll over and he looked up at the face of an angel. "Armin?" Historia exclaimed.
"Oh, fuck! It's Armin?" The owner of the male voice appeared.
"Hey, Jean." Armin groaned.
"As graceful as ever, Arlert." Jean said, crouching down.
"Shut up." He tried to sit up and the other two grabbed him, pushing him back down.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, buddy. Slow down."
"Armin, you're bleeding."
"Shit. That explains this headache then."
"What did you do, bounce your face off the pavement?" Jean asked.
"It feels like I did It was all kind of a blur."
He heard a car door slam and feet come running over and suddenly Annie appeared, leaning over him. "Fuck, is he okay?"
"Oh, yay. Annie's here too. This day just gets better and better." Armin muttered.
"Shut up." Jean said, unzipping his jacket.
"What are you-oh my god." Armin watched Jean rip off the bottom half of his t shirt, revealing some very nice looking abs, in Armin's opinion. Jean took the fabric and pressed it to Armin's head. "I don't even know how to react to this."
The girls seemed to be ignoring the half shirtless Jean situation that was unfolding. "That's a lot of blood. I think we'd better take him to the hospital." Historia said.
"He probably needs stitches." Annie commented.
"He should probably be checked for a concussion." Jean added.
"Yeah, should we call an ambulance?"
"My car's right here."
"Are you okay to drive him?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
Armin finally had enough. "Hey, if I don't need to be a part of this conversation, I think I'd like to go home."
"Shut up. You're going to the hospital." Jean said.
"Your bedside manner needs work, dude." Armin replied. "Anyway, aren't you cold?"
"Let's sit you up." Annie said, nudging past Historia.
"Thanks. That's all I've been trying to do for five minutes now."
"Being injured makes you feisty." Historia said. "I don't know if I've ever heard you swear before."
"I have, after YOUR girlfriend hit me in the face with a dodgeball."
"That was pretty hilarious." Annie grinned. She put a hand behind Armin's head, and gently, she and Jean pulled him first into a sitting position, and then standing.
"Alright, easy does it." Jean helped support Armin as Annie moved ahead of them.
"My car's right here." Annie opened the back door and Armin and Jean climbed in the back. Historia hopped in the front seat as Annie climbed in and drove off.
"I'm capable of holding the cloth to my own head." Armin put his hand over Jean's.
"Shut up."
"Would you stop telling me to shut up?" Armin snapped.
"He really is feisty." Annie said.
"I wish you all had just left me in the street." Armin muttered.
"Armin, should I call someone?" Historia asked, turning to look at him. "Your grandfather, maybe?"
"Logic tells me yes, but it's not a conversation I want to deal with." He answered.
"I'll call him after the doctor looks at you." She said, turning back around.
It didn't take long to get to the hospital. It must have been alarming to see them come in, Armin covered in blood, Jean missing half his shirt. They got taken back right away. A doctor came to see him. "What happened here?" She asked as she pulled the bloody cloth off of his head.
"I slipped on some ice and fell down the stairs."
"Oh, dear. That must have hurt." She said as she studied his wound. "Well, you're going to need stitches." The doctor pulled out a flashlight and began to check his eyes and go through the basic checks. His name, his birthday, the date, etc.
The doctor gave him the all clear, and said she would be back to his stitches. "I'll go call your grandfather now." Historia said, rising to her feet. The small exam room was looking a little crowded, the three of them smushed onto the one side.
"Tell him not to come here." Armin said. "Tell him I'll meet him at home."
"I will."
"Thank you." He pulled out his phone and texted Mikasa what ahd happened. He didn't want to see how she'd react if he didn't. Historia left the room. "So, Jean." Armin said, looking at his friend. "Are you just trying to show off your abs at this point? Like, we get it. You're ripped. You don't have to mock me with them."
Annie looked at Jean and grinned. "Zip up your jacket. You look like a tool."
"Why am I getting ganged up on?" Jean asked as he zipped up his jacket. "Here I am, being a fantastic friend, and I'm getting called names."
"Shut up, Jean." Annie said, shaking her head. "I'm gonna go check on Historia." She left the room.
"How ya feeling?" Jean asked.
"Like I fell down the stairs. How about you?"
Jean shook his head. "So, I texted Marco."
"So you're saying that everyone is going to know by tomorrow?"
"That is correct."
"Dammit. I am never going to live this down."
"Eh. If you were Jaeger, definitely not, but you're Armin, so I think they'll be more concerned, and happy you're okay."
Armin didn't know what to say to that. Luckily, the doctor came back into the room. "Alright. Let's get started." Even though he was given a local anesthetic, he still found himself wincing as she began to put the stitches in. Apparently, Jean noticed, and reached out and took Armin's hand. Armin was grateful.
Historia came in as Armin was being allowed out of bed. "You ready to go?" she asked.
"Yeah. I've been set free. Where's Annie?" He asked as he pulled on his coat and bookbag.
"In the waiting room. She said it was too crowded in here."
"Alright, let's get out of here." Jean said, putting a hand on Armin's back.
They headed out to the waiting room. Annie rose to her feet as they came out. Her face was concerned as her gaze came to rest on the big white bandage on Armin's head. "How are you feeling?" she asked.
Armin glanced at Jean, who just shook his head. "I've been better." Armin answered.
"I can imagine. You just stay here. I'll go pull the car around." With that, she left.
"Is she acting strange?" Jean asked.
"How do you mean?" Armin looked at him.
"She's acting…nice."
"Annie IS nice." Armin replied.
"To who?"
"Armin." Historia answered. Armin felt his face flush red. "Bertolt. Sasha. Eren on a good day. She's always been nice to me."
"Yeah, so it must just be you." Armin said, patting Jean on the shoulder.
"And Reiner." Historia added. "And she has that weird thing with Mikasa."
Armin realized that there was probably a connection between the people Annie liked, and their relationship with the people she didn't. "We're done talking about this." He said as Annie pulled up outside with the car.
"Come on." Jean said as the three of them walked outside.
"Armin, your house is closest to mine, so you sit up front." Annie said.
"Right." Armin did as he was told.
"Wait, you're going to give me a ride too?" Jean asked as Historia climbed in the backseat.
"Shut up and get in before I change my mind, Kirschstein." She snapped.
"Yes, ma'am." He climbed in the car and shut his mouth.
"Idiot." Annie muttered as she drove off. Armin smiled. Annie glanced at him and she tried to hide it, but Armin saw a small smile grace her lips. They stopped at Jean's house first. "Here you go, moron."
"Wait, how do you know where Jean lives?" Armin asked.
"Don't ask." Jean grumbled, climbing out of the car.
Armin's eyes grew wide and he looked at Annie. "Now, I HAVE to know."
Annie's facial expression didn't change. "I'll tell you one day, when he really annoys me."
"So, next sleepover then?" Historia giggled.
"Probably."
Armin watched Jean go into his house as Annie drove off. "I can't tell what I'm more looking forward to, whatever this embarrassing story is, or his face as you tell it."
"You certainly have an interesting relationship with him." Historia commented.
"I'm convinced if I hadn't been friends with Eren first, Jean would be my best friend."
"That's an interesting thing to think about." Historia said.
"By the way, what did my grandfather say on the phone?" Armin asked, twisting around to look at her.
"Well, once I said you were able to go home, he didn't worry about leaving work. So, he said to tell you he'll see you when you get home. And that was about it."
"Alright, well thanks for calling hime." He smiled at her.
She smiled back. "It really wasn't a big deal."
"But still." They came to a stop outside of Historia's house. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." She said. "Thank you for the ride, Annie." Annie nodded as Historia got out of the car.
"Thank you, Annie." Armin said, looking at her as they drove off.
"You don't have to thank me, Armin. I'm just glad you're okay."
He gave her a smile. "Still, thank you."
"I'm just doing what a friend should do." She stared straight ahead.
He grew quiet. She didn't seem to want to talk. But a question popped into his head. "How do you know where Historia lives? I didn't know that."
"She was my lab partner in bio last year. We used to study together."
"Oh, cool. I was partnered with Sasha."
"I bet that was an adventure."
"It was. But she's smarter than everyone gives her credit for. She just thinks in an out of the box way. There's nothing wrong with that."
Annie grew quiet for a moment. "Can I just ask you one question? I won't ask who it is, I know now you're determined to keep quiet about that. But," she parked the car in front of Armin's house and looked at him. "Are you happy? Do they make you happy?"
"Yes, they do."
Annie reached over and took his hand. "Then, I'm happy for you." She squeezed his hand before climbing out of the car.
"You don't have to walk me in." he said as he did the same.
"Armin? Are you okay?" He saw Mikasa coming up the sidewalk.
"Your timing is uncanny." He grinned at her.
Mikasa ignored his comment, and gently ran her fingers over his bandage. "It looks bad."
"It's only 8 stitches."
"That's a lot of stitches, Armin. That's more stitches than you should have in your head."
"Well, I'm gonna go now." Annie said.
Mikasa tucked an arm around Armin as they both looked at Annie. There was something about her expression that led Armin to suspect that Annie knew. But he trusted her not to say anything. Annie wasn't the type to spread other people's business…unless you pissed her off. "Thank you, Annie." Mikasa said. Armin looked at her, surprised.
Annie looked just as surprised. "My pleasure, Mikasa."
"Bye, Annie." Armin said.
"Goodbye, Armin." She said before getting into her car.
"Let's get you inside." Mikasa said. He pulled the keys out of his pocket as she led him up the front steps. She took the keys and unlocked the front door. Armin glanced back in time to watch Annie pull away. "To the couch. Do you want anything?" Mikasa pulled him into the house and shut the door. "An ice pack or-"
"I'm fine." He said, pulling off his coat. Mikasa took it from him. If it had been anyone else, he probably would have been annoyed at being treated like an invalid. But he didn't mind when it was Mikasa.
"You sure?" She asked as she pulled off her own coat.
"Yes, babe." He answered, moving to the living room and sitting on the couch. "Where's Eren anyway? I would have expected him to be here."
"I didn't tell him." Mikasa said, walking in.
"You didn't tell him?" Armin raised his eyebrows, which made him wince.
"Are you okay?" Mikasa hurried over and sat next to him, her face concerned.
"It's nothing. Why didn't you tell Eren?"
She gave him a sheepish grin. "Because I wanted you all to myself."
He smirked at her. "Whatever for, Miss Ackerman?"
Her smile grew as she leaned forward and kissed him softly. "So I can nurse you back to health."
"I feel better already." He said, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer as he kissed her more deeply. His hand slid up under her shirt, and his fingers slid across the soft skin of her back. He felt her shiver and smiled in the kiss. His fingers had just reached her bra when his cellphone began to ring. "Son of a bitch." He muttered as Mikasa pulled back. "I don't have to answer it." He said to her.
"You had probably better. It could be important." She replied as she fixed her shirt.
"It better be." He said as he answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Armin? Oh my god! Mom just told me what happened? Are you okay?" Eren's voice was loud enough that Armin held the phone away from his ear.
"I'm fine, Eren. I got 8 stitches in my head."
"Holy shit, dude! Do you need me to come over? Mom said I shouldn't since Mikasa is already over there, but I'll ignore her if you need me to."
"You better not let her hear you say that." Mikasa said.
"Hey, Mikasa, what the fuck? Why didn't you tell me?"
"You were napping. I didn't want to wake you."
"This is the kind of thing you wake me up for!"
"Yeah, Eren." Armin cut in. "I have a headache and just want to rest." He could imagine Eren's pout. "I'll show you my stitches tomorrow."
"Wicked! I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Yeah, bye Eren." Armin hung up and stared at Mikasa. "Sometimes, I could just choke him."
"No, you couldn't." She smiled. "But I could do it for you."
He shook his head. "It's not too late to pick up where we left off."
Mikasa laughed. "Alright, tiger. Your grandfather will be home soon."
"I swear, one of these days, we will be able to make out without getting interrupted." He sighed.
"One day, babe." She said, leaning in and kissing him on the lips.
"Grandfather certainly has no reason to worry about STDS or pregnancy. I can't even get far enough to get your shirt off." He rested his head against the back of the couch. "I'm never going to lose my virginity."
"Never say never." Mikasa smirked. "That day will come, slugger." She kissed him more deeply. He gently cupped her face, running a hand through her hair.
The front door opened and Mikasa sprung back. "Armin?" Grandfather called.
"And there it is." Armin sighed, making Mikasa laugh. She kissed him on the cheek. "In here, Grandfather." He called.
