Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan nor its characters.

Quick Note: You can interpret this as platonic or romantically, albeit admittedly it's leaning more towards romantic haha.

He watches her fall.

Again. For the second time. For the second time, Armin hears her air-tank choke, and watches it come to an abrupt halt a second after. The next thing he sees is how she almost crashes to what could've been a close death if he hadn't swoop in, scoop her in his arms before landing on the ground.

Unfortunately for him, he hadn't been in time to save her from the spiky branches that tore through her blouse, staining them crimson red all over, bestowing her yet another series of scars on her back and chest that would take a while to recover, heal from. And if she was lucky, they'd disappear for good.

But he had been in time to catch her before her head could've knocked onto something rock-hard, which could've led to a concussion. A coma. He is momentarily relieved when he sees that she is still conscious. He lays her down gently against a tree, with such caution as if he was handling a watchmaker's intricate task, as if she is the most fragile thing he has seen or touched. He doesn't want her anymore hurt than she already is.

But that relief soon washes itself away when he sees her wince in pain, and he can tell that its taking every ounce of her remaining strength to not let out a loud yelp that could possibly scare the creatures resting in the forest at this time of the day, or more specifically night.

After developing and improving on the 3-D manoeuvre gear, Commander Hanji had given an Okay for Levi and his squad to test it out while she busies herself with another pile of paperwork, with her responsibilities as Commander. They had split themselves up, in the forest at night, continuing their training as per normal while familiarising with the new gear that they'd possibly be wearing when they'd confront the man who had abandoned them.

He isn't sure how far they are now, and figures that screaming for help would be pointless because he knows he needs to take action now as opposed to waiting for his calls to be answered.

Because Armin had been in front of the raven, he is unable to tell if it was her momentary carelessness and loss of her cool that had led her to her downfall or if it was due to a fault in the gear that had caused the gas to halt so abruptly. It doesn't matter either way, for now. He has other things to worry about, like how her blouse was soaking up more and more blood.

"Mikasa." He calls her name as calmly as he could, but he is sure the woman in front of him can see through this false front he puts for her, and that he is worried to death even though he is aware that this isn't the sort of tragic moment where this would be the last breath she takes. He knows she is stronger than that and that it'd take more than a fall to kill her. But he still worries. He can't help but worry for her, for the future, her future. And he hopes when the time comes when they meet him—their ex-comrade who abandoned them—she won't be so careless, reckless.

Before he knows it, he finds his hands gripping both of hers tightly, reassuringly. "Is your breathing fine? Is—"

He hates how she forces herself to sit up a little straighter, swallowing every painful shriek that she doesn't want to let out because she knows it'll do no good, and would only worry her blonde friend even more. What she doesn't know is that Armin doesn't care. He wants her to scream and let out all of her pain, because he knows it's better than bottling everything up.

However, he doesn't bring it up. Because arguing now would be a foolish thing to do.

"The wounds are not that deep." Armin can't tell if she's lying to reassure him. He knows that the woman in front of him, who was worth a hundred soldiers, would not die so easily from a few scratches from the branches. But he also knows that this woman was still human. And humans are fragile beings, the surface of their skin is thin, easy to tear from something as trivial as a paper cut. And while he was sure Mikasa is aware of this, she doesn't seem to apply that knowledge to herself. "Just… There was just a lot of branches." She pauses briefly. "And it just happened to open up old wounds… but I'm fine. Give me a while."

Armin is instantly reminded of the recent wounds that she received not too long ago from both a spar and from work; labour that she had been assigned to do (and from what he had heard, pushed herself a little too far. Something that he has already nagged and chided her for.).

His eyes narrow, and he doesn't trust her 'I'm fine' completely. But there is still colour in her face, her breathing isn't concerningly shallow and it doesn't look like she is forcing her eyes to stay wide open to avoid the pitch black a person would see when they faint. And he reminds himself that she isn't dying.

He hopes that something like this won't happen again, on the battlefield, where her life would truly be more at risk. He doesn't want to lose her.

He glances around the forest. Albeit dark, he recognises it. They have been training in these parts for quite some time now after all. "There's a river nearby." He quickly says, suddenly in a rush. "We'll wash your wounds there." He doesn't give her a choice. He isn't asking.

"I'm fine." Yet she insists on the fact that she doesn't need help. "On the battlefield, I don't get the luxury of washing my wounds at a lake." She is stubborn. "I have to put up with it."

"But we aren't at war now." He sounds sterner now, fiercer. He isn't usually like this; he is admittedly more of a passive person who probably had given into her more often than he should recently. However, he doesn't know how else to respond to her stubbornness.

He slowly carries her up, and it seems like Mikasa's body is a little too worn out to fight back.

Again, it is foolish to argue now. That's the last thing Armin wants with her. He tries to reason. "And by the time you're on the battlefield, all your wounds would already be healed. You'll be stronger. At your fullest. But right now, you've been overworking yourself, getting new bruises. You aren't at full capacity."

Mikasa doesn't argue back, because he is right. And she knows he wouldn't yield to her stubbornness because he cares for her too deeply.

…

When they reached the river, Armin once again gently sets her down and removes both their gears, setting them aside. He notices that her wounds are no longer oozing out as much blood as before, and it soothes him… just slightly. It confirms the fact that they aren't that deep, but it doesn't mean Armin would care any less about it. About her.

His hands scramble about in his pockets, and finds a clean handkerchief that he isn't sure how it ended up there, but regardless is thankful for its presence. He approaches the lake, soaks it with water before squeezing some of it out and turns back to Mikasa.

It was only then did he realise what he has to do and what he has just gotten himself into.

Mikasa already knows, has her back already turned and facing him as her hands move to unbutton her blouse.

It is probably an extremely inappropriate moment to flush, but Armin can't help it. Instinctively, he turns away, sparing her some privacy even though that isn't exactly a choice later on. "I- uh… ah…" There is no longer a sternness in his tone. It is lost, and nervousness overwhelms him. Mikasa notices it in the instant she unbuttons the last button, letting the blouse fall down her shoulders, down to the ground.

Armin is unable to believe how she removes the clothes from her body without that much hesitance. Does she not realise what she is doing? Or does she trust him that much? Or is it because she doesn't see him as man?

The last thought irks him somehow, but that is far from the truth behind Mikasa's lowered guard around him.

Mikasa knows the back of her sports bra is partially torn, too. And she knows it'll get in the way. So, her hands move towards it, unhesitatingly, to take it off.

"W-Wait!" Despite his well-known intellect, clearly Armin didn't think ahead for this scenario. He is red all over. "I- ah… y-you can keep that on. I don't want to...—"

"I trust you, Armin." She says this so confidently, even though admittedly, she's a little embarrassed too. Because she is still a woman who has undeniably grown in certain areas, and this is the first time she exposes herself this much to a man. But there weren't nurses around to tend to her, so she isn't in a position to complain. And she knows that if she puts back on her blouse and tells Armin to forget it, he'll go on a lecture and the cycle repeats.

And above all, she trusts Armin. He is her childhood friend, too. He would never harm her. He could never harm her. She knows this, and she never takes advantage of it, of his kindness because she cares for him deeply too. She cares for him, in her own unspoken way. "It's okay." She doesn't look back to him to give a reassuring look that provides as much assurance as her tone, mostly because her cheeks are tinged slightly pink, and she doesn't want that to distract him or make him any more uneasy.

I trust him. She thinks. But even so…this situation is…

Her cheeks, tinged with pink, says enough.

Armin gulps and nods and walks towards her silently before kneeling down behind her after she has removed her bra. Perhaps if Mikasa could've reached all the wounded areas on her back easily, the two childhood friends probably wouldn't have found themselves in this sort of… predicament.

"I'll… be fast." He says, but it doesn't mean he won't be gentle. He dabs the cloth on her wounds lightly, wiping away the blood.

She winces, making Armin even softer in his movements. "It's okay." She says again, her arms crossed and covering the front of her chest. "We're alone…anyway. We aren't supposed to meet the others yet… they probably wouldn't have noticed our absence."

"Yeah…" Armin murmurs, "Does it hurt?" He checks on her, as he approaches the slightly deeper cuts that appears to be her re-opened wounds. He makes a mental note to inform Commander Hanji that they should have a wardrobe upgrade, have better material for their uniforms. A blouse and a jacket over it weren't going to do it for them at this point in time.

"No." Mikasa responds. "Sorry." She responds, and Armin raises a brow, before he finds them furrowing in slight frustration.

"Does that mean… your fall was due to carelessness?" He asks, and he tries his best to ensure that his question doesn't sound something close like a reprimand.

"I don't think so." What an uncertain answer, Armin cannot help but think. Neither a lie nor the truth. "I'm just… tired."

He decides not to pry any further, and lets it go for now because pushing, and maybe even arguing won't do either of them any good. And perhaps, its because he can empathise with her too. Deep down, he knows it isn't just the training and labour that is wearing her down. There was him, too. In that way, they are alike. However, their connection extends further than that.

They aren't just connected because of him.

Either way, He doesn't want to think of his name, much less say it out loud now. So, he changes the topic.

Somewhat.

"Please…be more careful next time." He finds himself saying this before he could rethink his words. In Mikasa's eyes, Armin never had his guard up so high around her. Because just as she trusts him, he trusts her. However, hearing him so vulnerable now seemed to have surprised her a little, and it softens her heart. It makes her feel a little more vulnerable than she already is, too. "I can't lose you." It sounds like a plea, and he is referring to the next time they are out on the actual battlefield; a place where lives are truly at risk, at stake. More prone to death. "That is… all I ask from you, Mikasa." He whispers that last part in a hushed tone, and she could only wonder why.

"…I don't have any bandages now." Armin continues before Mikasa could reply. "Otherwise… your wounds are a little cleaner now. Ah… we better get you back to headquarters quick…" He grumbles the last part, and walks over to the river once more, rinsing the blood absorbed from the handkerchief before walking back.

When he returns back, his anxiousness does too. "Uh… your front." He is vague. "I'll… clean it now… so… uh… I… d-do you—"

His words are cut halfway, and his cheeks become redder when the woman in front of him unexpectedly turns towards him, facing straight at him. And even if her arms are still covering her breasts, there is still the sight of her cleavage that he tries to avoid looking at but it is difficult not to when he'd start cleaning the wound in front because...

Either way, he is astounded once again that the raven doesn't mind being so exposed in front of him.

"M-Mikasa! W-What are you—"

He looks away so fast when she turns anyway, so he doesn't notice the light, faint pinkness on the raven's cheeks. "I trust you." She says again, "There aren't that many scars as compared to my back… the blood is still oozing out a little, but nothing serious…" She remarks as calmly as she could, forcing every stutter to die and her words to be more articulate. It is hard to maintain her usual levelled tone in her voice, but she tries to because she doesn't want Armin to think she is uncomfortable or hates it.

Armin gulps again, and with his eyes still fixated on a random leaf on the ground, he marches to her in an awfully stiff way, kneels down, and Mikasa swears it took him more than a minute to finally be able to face her.

Despite their shyness and silence, there seems to be an unspoken understanding between them that prompts Mikasa to slowly loosen her arms, exposing her chest completely but Armin's eyes aren't focused—he makes sure they aren't focus on her… womanly parts. He doesn't want her to feel uncomfortable, and he isn't sure if he can contain his blush if he even dares peek at them.

Besides, the long scar that stretched from the top of her chest, down to her upper stomach catches his attention the most. And his worry sinks back in, numbing his flustered self temporarily. Even if the wound isn't that deep, he worries. His eyes soften as he cleans the blood dripping. For the first time, he never knew he could hate the colour red so much. And he can only hope that she wouldn't drenched in it the next time he encounters her on the battlefield.

He doesn't say anything for now, in fear of making her uncomfortable. He doesn't even know what sort of conversation to even make, in this sort of situation. And as he is finishing cleaning up, Mikasa speaks.

"Sorry…" Mikasa suddenly apologises again, although she sounds sullener. "For you to see something so unsightly." She is referring to her scars. And although she knows she—that both of them had seen worse, more gory things in their life, she can't help but feel bad. It's not like anyone wants to see a friend's bleeding wounds. "And I'm sorry for troubling you." He wonders if she is referring to her earlier obstinance.

"…Gee… what are you saying? You'd have done the same thing for me right?" Armin murmurs, and when he finishes cleaning the last bit of leaking blood, he garners some courage as his ocean hues meet her greyish ones that seemed a little brighter, perhaps due to the moonlight. Unsightly? He scoffs to himself. What is she talking about?

She is beautiful. He thinks immediately, and blushes at the sudden thought. And then finds himself mesmerised by her, by the trusting, loving look in her eyes that she doesn't bother to hide, that she lets him see. Because Mikasa Ackerman cares for Armin Arlert deeply and what is there in that fact to hide? He shifts closer to her sub-consciously, as if his eyes want a closer peak of the 'colourfulness' hidden behind her orbs. Unknown to him, he is hypnotized. "You aren't unsightly…" Words like that spill from the tip of his tongue, "Your eyes… they sparkle in the moonlight. Like last time."

Last time…?

Mikasa finally sees his face, a little clearer now, and unknown to Armin, he is moving closer to her, and she is unsure why he suddenly complimented her eyes. Or why her heart begins to palpitate, or why there is warmth accumulating at her cheeks.

"Armin…?"

"Mika—"

But alas, the moment is ruined. Armin's arm grazes her breasts lightly and most definitely accidentally, when he moves closer—but the fact that it was an accident doesn't make the situation any better as Mikasa's cheeks officially burnt red while Armin, upon realising what he had just done, instantly turns around and becomes a stuttering mess.

"I-I-I d-didn't m—"

Mikasa finds herself covering her chest again. And even though she knows it's an accident, it is still flustering.

Then suddenly, she recalls something, a moment back before their lives had taken a terrible direction. A moment before they realised and saw what life outside the walls was truly like. A moment, which had revealed to Mikasa back then that Armin wasn't as innocent as she thought he was.

"…Armin, weren't you the one who… had those indecent books that you later circulated around the boys for a while… before they got confiscated?"

Her statement doesn't make this… his predicament any better, nor does it cure his stutters. If anything, it worsens them, and to make things worse, he feels his heart beating rapidly as he struggles to find words to explain.

"I-I…! I-It isn't w-what you t-think! I—"

"…Perv." She says it flatly, in such a cold way that almost drives Armin into tears of embarrassment. That was, until he heard a chuckle that followed after a minute of him internally suffering from being labelled as a perv by her.

A beautiful, angelic sort of sound he hadn't heard from her for a while.

"W-Why—"

"You can turn around now." She says, and he does so, hesitantly. She already has her bra back on, and her smile still stays plastered on her face after her chuckle.

What a sweet smile, he thinks.

"I still trust you." She says softly, and that relieves him a little. But he is concerned that she didn't withdraw her remark about him being a perv. Then again, to be fair… that indecent book incident…

He cut his thoughts off halfway when he sees her about to wear back that bloodied blouse. He immediately stops her, and Mikasa frowns, confused.

"Arm—"

Before she knows it, Armin is the one unbuttoning his blouse and before she is the one who turns to a stuttering, confused mess the blonde speaks, "It's dirty… don't wear it back"

He goes behind her, removes the dirtied blouse after handing her his own.

"Ah…" was all Mikasa could say, and she feels embarrassed at the fact that she thought he was undressing for… other reasons. And she is too stubborn to admit it, or say it out loud.

"Thank you." She ends up saying, and she is genuinely grateful. Slowly, she puts on his blouse as Armin takes a seat behind her, his eyes looking over at her wounds. He notices some of them bleeding a little again, and it aches his heart but there is nothing much he can do with just a handkerchief.

"Sorry… for you to see something so unsightly." Her remarks echo in his head, and he doesn't like it.

Granted, Armin agrees that scars are anything but pretty. Because behind each scar, is pain. You can rarely find any beauty in them.

But when Armin sees Mikasa, he still finds her beautiful. Not just the outer appearance, but her heart. She may be regarded as cold by strangers, cruel by enemies… but he cannot help but find her heart beautiful, because he is one of the very few people she has ever made room for in there.

He leans in closer to her back, and before the blouse covers all her back as she buttons them, he presses his lips against the area near the nape of her neck. It all happened too fast, too instinctive; at least on his part. Armin was barely aware of the affection he just gave her.

Mikasa is caught off guard, and she flushes at his sudden 'attack'. But she doesn't hate it. She is just confused why he did it and… is puzzled about the sudden fluttering in her heart.

"A-Armin…?" She stutters out.

When his lips finally depart from her back, it seems like he hasn't snapped out of the trance he is in, and isn't completely aware of what he just did. And all he manages to say is, "You aren't unsightly."

Mikasa goes silent, and for some reason, she feels her entire body and nerves relax, as if such simple words provided her some sort of solace.

"…You really are a Perv." She cannot help but reply, because she finds it unfair how he could do something like that… how he can surprise her just like that.

It is only when she calls him a Perv again, does he become fully aware of what his instincts drove him to do. He is now panicking and blushing madly. And then, he is struggling again, to find words to explain, to justify.

"…I could've cleaned my chest myself you know." Mikasa says these words as if she had been aware of this fact all along. But really, that thought has only now occurred to her; and it probably flusters her more than the blonde whose cheeks grew redder (if it can already be redder than it already was) as the word Perv automatically and continuously reverberates in his head. He hopes Mikasa doesn't really think of him as Perv.

It seems both of them had been too caught up in the moment.

Well, what's done is done and Mikasa doesn't seem to be bothered about Armin's actions as much as he thinks she does. Not even the kiss on her back, which is something she chooses not to question now. Because she is sure they are both tired and given the current predicament—the one where they are in the middle of the forest, unable to head back using their gear since hers is faulty— and that it isn't the best time to bring it up.

For now, the raven merely watches the blonde's shyness grow increasingly as he mumbles out inarticulate words that she assumes are meant to explain and justify himself, and prove himself unguilty of his Perv nickname.

This is the same man who is able to use words as weapons against enemies, to push forward his beliefs. That same man was stammering, unable to find the right words and a part of Mikasa finds this side of his amusing. And maybe cute.

She doesn't say anything after, as her heart chooses to treasure this little moment they have.

Author's note: Was feeling angsty late at night after some stuff and I found an incomplete drabble that I just quickly finished and sprinkled in angst and maybe some slight fluff. Idk man, would work on it more 'cause I don't think it's good (however, i don't think i would lmao it'll probably just be there left lying with other incomplete drabbles.) but I'm too tired. And I have other ongoing series' next chapter to finish cries T-T.

Ngl, I need more AruMika angst in my life, someone help me.

Anyways thanks for reading this, Please Leave A Review :) !

…And if you want, tell me your angsty headcanons for AruMika I'm curious, I-