Armin couldn't seem to be running fast enough, or at least not as quickly as he wanted to. No matter how quick he rode to the hospital, or how fast he went through it, it felt as though he were knee deep in quicksand.

Hearing what Jean had done to himself while he was gone made Armin's heart sink into his stomach. Somehow, Jean had gotten it into his mind to take his own life. Marco had called 911 in time, it sounded like, but Jean still had to be in the hospital.

Before reaching Jean's room, however, Armin was stopped by security. Apparently, he'd been going through far too quickly, and made a commotion. Breathlessly, he tried to explain.

"Please, you have to let me through!" He begged. "I have to go see my husband!" Armin even flashed his wedding ring as proof he was indeed married.

The security personnel was not swayed. As a result, Armin was left to remain in the waiting room with Eren and Mikasa. The entire time, he stood and paced while watching for any sign of Jean.

...

"Come on, Armin," Eren said as he and the other two had been waiting for at least fifteen minutes. "I don't get why you're bothering to wait to see if that horse's ass is okay. Last I checked, he's in the doghouse for running his mouth to you."

"That doesn't mean anything, Eren." Armin took a quick glance to make sure he didn't miss anything. "Just because I'm mad at him doesn't mean I want him to die."

He went back to watching intently, hoping for any good news. While he did, he placed his hands onto his baby bump, as if he were trying to give his unborn child a hug.

Jean didn't need to die before the birth of his child. That much was certain. After at least fifteen more minutes, Armin got something he had been waiting for:

"Armin Arlert-Kirstein?"

...

Each step brought Armin closer to Jean's room, and one step closer to hopefully getting answers. Armin also had an extreme feeling of dread, which only really went away after they passed the morgue.

"He's got a tube down his throat, so chances are he won't be able to talk," Nurse Rico said. Then she muttered about how she 'got called in on her day off' for some 'lowlife junkie'. Armin was afraid to try and convince her otherwise.

It felt like the two of them were the only people left in the hospital; Armin couldn't really hear any of the other patients in their own rooms, with their own loved ones. The hallways felt rather empty, as well. Armin barely registered his surroundings when he and Nurse Rico arrived at Jean's room.

"Just go back the way you came when you're done. Something goes wrong, page a nurse." She left him there, muttering under her breath as she walked away.

When she was gone, Armin stepped carefully into the room. In the bed, Jean was presumably (and hopefully) sleeping. Despite the circumstances, he looked calm and content. As quietly as he could, Armin tiptoed to him. Just as Nurse Rico had said, a tube was sticking out of Jean's mouth, enabling him to breathe a little better.

Though Armin had been moving in a somewhat muffled way, Jean's eyes still gradually fluttered open when he'd gotten close enough.

"Jean..." He whispered when he was at his bedside. Carefully, Jean turned his head and let his eyes wander upward until he maintained eye contact. He then started tapping on his bed, while also pointing to one of Armin's hands. Armin wasn't sure what Jean was really getting at, but gave him his hand anyway. Laying it down flat, palm side up, Jean started to write into it with his finger:

'You came.'

Armin nodded. "Of course I did. I don't see any reason why I couldn't."

'Because I'm a moron.'

"I wouldn't go that far. You did say something that hurt my feelings, but I didn't think you'd try and take your own life over it. I was mad, yes, and I still kind of am, but...you're my husband. It's not like everything's going to go perfectly for us."

Nodding in agreement, Jean looked away. He still seemed ashamed over what he'd said. To try and reassure him, Armin reached over and smoothed his hair out.

"It's going to take more than a few hurtful words to ruin a marriage. And, well, no sense going to bed angry, right?"

'Of course.'

"So promise me, Jean. Promise me you'll never do anything this stupid again. Okay?"

'I promise.'

Now Jean moved his hand up to place it over Armin's belly. It was hard to tell, but Armin could've sworn Jean was grinning as well as he could. He did smile a little himself when Jean began to tickle him. Then Jean suddenly drew his hand back, like it'd been burned.

"What is it?" Wide-eyed, Jean excitedly began writing into Armin's palm again, almost too fast for him to understand:

'I think it kicked!'

Sure enough, when Armin felt around that spot, he could feel the fluttering movements that could only have come from their child. The little sign of life within Armin made his eyes well up.

...

"What has gotten into you boys?!" The football season for their team had not been a good one. "We used to win games with no problem! Now we got nothing! It's like all of you are failing on purpose!"

Armin sat at the front of the bleachers, watching Coach Shadis chew out all the football players, pacing about and shouting like a drill sergeant.

"You're pathetic! All of you! Just looking at the lot of you makes me sick! Starting tomorrow, we're going to ramp up practice! Maybe then you won't be such screw-ups by the end of the season!"

Looking closely, Armin could see at least a couple of players on the verge of tears. Their miserable expressions remained after Coach Shadis left them all alone in the gymnasium.

All of them murmured amongst themselves when they grabbed their stuff to go home. Armin could actually hear one of them utter "We need Jean back." which was answered by a few soft sounds of agreement.

...

It was astounding how one could be held in high regard, and then come crashing down rather suddenly. But Eren got to experience that first-hand.

He entered the locker room after everyone else did; he should've noticed the first sign of something wrong when none of them returned his greeting. Of course, Eren just attributed that to the atrocious season record they'd been dealing with.

"So what do you got planned after school is over, Reiner?" Instead of giving him an actual response, Reiner just let out an angry and irritated grunt. He didn't bother acknowledging Eren after that, preferring to ignore him as he wandered naked into the showers to join a few of the others.

"Um...Okay...Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." He turned his attention to one of the other players. "What about you, Bertholdt?"

Bertholdt just flat out ignored him as he tied his shoes. None of the other boys seemed to want to talk to him either. At least one of those boys leaving shoved Eren to the ground.

"What's gotten into all of you?!" He demanded of them when he got back to his feet and followed them.

He got no answer.

...

Eventually, Jean was declared well enough to leave the hospital, once everything looked to have exited his systems.

Finally, after what felt like a total eternity, Jean got what he was hoping for. He now walked behind his new boss Erwin as the latter showed him around the auto repair shop.

Erwin, in a stroke of luck (or maybe pity), must've decided that having a married seventeen year old father to be wouldn't be so bad. Although Jean knew next to nothing about cars, Erwin was willing to train him.

"Most of the workers here bring their own food here for their breaks," Erwin told Jean as they entered the slightly pathetic break room. "If you aren't one of those, however, we can provide one for you just fine."

"Thanks," Jean said to him in a low voice. "For, you know..." Erwin raised one of his bushy eyebrows, as he waited to hear what Jean was trying to tell him. "For, uh...everything."

Erwin waved it off. "No need to thank me. Just try to be a quick learner and you'll do fine."

In addition, not only was Erwin willing to hire Jean, he also had a house be available for rent. It wasn't the biggest or the most glamorous, but it was cozy and in good shape. It was at a reasonable price too, even with all the utilities included.

Simply put, Jean could work enough hours to cover the rent, then with any cash left over, he could spend as he saw fit.

Jean couldn't thank Erwin enough.

...

That evening, Jean was getting ready for a shower. Earlier he'd told Armin the good news, which got an enthusiastic response. Now, as Jean was checking himself over to make sure nothing was abnormal, he heard a gentle knock on the door.

"It's unlocked!" The door squealed open, revealing Armin peeking in before walking in properly.

"Jean? Can I..." He looked nervous as he gave his request. "Since I was going to be taking a shower sometime tonight anyway, can we...do that together?"

As he waited for Jean's answer, he fiddled with the tie on the bathrobe he had on. The way he looked as he did made him look sort of pure and innocent.

Jean sat where he was, a bit dumbfounded and taken aback. Then he nodded, unable to really say or do a whole lot else. Armin smiled, beginning to untie his robe and reveal himself.

The changes that Armin's body had already gone through were pretty noticeable. Alongside the obvious bit of his belly getting even bigger, Jean noticed his chest seemed to have grown a bit as well. He couldn't stop staring.

Even so, he tried playing it cool when the two of them stepped into the shower and turned it on. Jean then had to try and ignore the suggestive sounding moan Armin made when the warm water sluiced over them.

"You made sure the water wasn't too hot for me, right? I don't want the baby to get overheated or anything..."

"Of course I did. I'm not that inconsiderate of a husband."

Armin couldn't help but smile at that a little. He then got a little closer and let Jean hold him. He closed his eyes and felt his face press against Jean's chest. In turn, Jean rested his head on top of Armin's.

The sound of the water spraying over them both was quite relaxing. Armin closed his eyes and hummed a little, before saying what was on his mind.

"I almost lost you," he murmured over the water spraying. Jean didn't respond, So Armin went on. "I'm so sorry about all that-"

"No Armin," Jean then cut in. "I'm sorry. I said and did some extremely stupid things. I could say it was the stress of constant job rejections, but...let's not kid myself."

Armin nodded. "But tomorrow's Saturday, so we can start packing and moving into our new home, right?"

"Right. Mister Smith is a lifesaver. And not only that, I'm sure Marco would really appreciate having his spare room back." Then came a brief laugh from the both of them. After that, the both of them proceeded to wash each other properly, before finishing up and getting ready for bed.