AN: Woot woot, ch3 lets go sooooooonnnnnnnnn. I'd really appreciate feedback on this (since I'm still super rusty when it comes to fanfiction)
The gauze lay crumpled in a heap on the floor. Eren stood next to it, stretching energetically as the loud pops of his bones echoed the room. He glanced over to the mirror, looking at the long, pale white scar on his left side. He tentatively touched it with his finger and traced it gently, following it like a path. He met his own eyes in the mirror and grinned.
"I look fucking awesome," he mumbled, chuckling confidently as he started to flex in the mirror, not realizing the blonde boy leaning against the door-frame.
"Eren, you are acting ridiculous." Armin chided, as Eren jumped slightly in surprise and embarrassment. He glanced over at the blonde and sheepishly smiled.
"Aww, come on—don't be like that. You know how super psyched I am about not being wrapped up like a damn mummy anymore," Eren replied playfully, Armin simply smiled in retaliation; of course he knew how excited Eren was, he remembered the way the brunettes eyes lit up when he told him that his wounds were all healed. His own arm had healed a few weeks ago, and he worked hard to help rebuild the strength he had lost due to the injury.
"You need to train before recklessly going out again, though, Eren. Otherwise you'll be a mummy for another month and a half." Armin reminded his friend, all the while giving him a stern look.
"Yeah, yeah- of course." Eren said, hardly listening as he grabbed his swords from the table, swinging them experimentally. The magic circles glowed brightly, due to him taking Armin's advice about re-enforcing them. Swinging them once again, he noted just how out of practice he was.
"Shit…I guess I do need to train…" He mumbled to himself while Armin chuckled.
"I told you." The blonde said with a cocky smirk, earning a playful glare from Eren.
Back to back, the boys clutched their swords. Armin was wiping blood from his face, and Eren flicked said liquid off his swords. Both caught their breath while they looked around them. Steaming titan corpses littered the ground around their feet in a rough circle. At least eight were dead and they were exhausted. City cleanup was taking a lot longer than anticipated, but there seemed to be no aberrants for them to worry about.
"Haah, I was worried those last few would take a bite out of me for sure…" Armin sighed in almost relief as he dropped to his knees, trying to slow his rapid heartbeat. Eren plopped down beside him, dropping his swords and staring up at the sky as he breathed heavily.
"Damn, that took so much longer than it should have." Eren called out in a raspy voice to his friend.
"Seriously, tell me about it…" Armin muttered out and groaned, his heartbeat slowly steadying itself. Finally having caught his breath, he stood up, looking over to Eren, and holding out his hand to help his friend up. Eren's face lit up with a grin on his face as he grasped Armin's hand. The blond yanked him up, and Eren worked to regain his balance and composure back.
"You still up for another round of slice and dice?" Eren called over to his friend as he bent down to pick up his swords.
"You bet." Armin replied as he spun his swords with his own anticipation. Eren looked over to his friend with a grin.
"Whoever kills the least has to cook tonight!" He betted confidently. Armin looked at him and pouted.
"No fair, tonight was supposed to be your night to cook, Eren. You're so lazy." Nonetheless, the blonde boy grinned "Fine, you're on."
An aura of cockiness surrounds Eren as he laughs. He then shoots off like a bullet, running down the street. Suddenly, he spots two titans and slices their necks. The blades bit easily into the artificial flesh, blood splattering everywhere. The bodies crumple to the ground and giant bursts of steam rise up as it clouds over the bodies, making it impossible for Eren to see his kills. A blurry figure rushes through the steam, snapping at Eren and he jumps back before it could bite him.
"Fuck!" He curses loudly, falling backwards. His swords fall to the ground a few feet away, just out of his reach. His nerves are standing on end as the titan approaches. It gets closer, snapping its jaws at him again as he rolls narrowly to dodge. Just as he reaches for his blades, the titan lunges towards him.
Eren's blade goes through the titan's chest, a wound that would be fatal for humans, but merely creates a minuscule amount of distance between the hunter and the homunculi. Armin appeared behind the titan, slicing its head off with his own swords before it could attack Eren again. Rolling his eyes, he crouches down next to the brunette.
"I just saved your life. I think for a reward, you should make me dinner," Armin tries to say jokingly, but his tone holds a hint of irritation due to Eren's mishap.
"I totally had him! And I killed more than you anyw-" Eren argues, but with the daggers of the death glare Armin is giving him, he stopped him midsentence. Armin was pissed; even Eren wasn't stupid enough to not notice. With a sigh, Eren gets up and brushes himself off.
"Whatever." Eren mumbles.
"We've made enough progress for today, let's go back home before you almost get yourself killed again." Armin's tone is sharp, and Eren flinches. He's rarely this pissed, and it's obvious why he chooses now to be. He always gets angry at him when Eren would brashly run into dangerous situations that seemed to almost always push himself to the brink of death. It was more or less a habit by now that he rarely took the time to observe his environment, even when it was infested with titans.
Eren felt guilty, but Armin was right. He didn't echo his thoughts aloud, knowing if he did, it'd just boost the blonde's ego, causing him to reply with a smug 'I told you so'. Eren noted that he needed to be more cautious of his surroundings. Figuring it was the least he could do, he reasoned that he could make dinner tonight in hopes to get back on the blonde's good side. He looked behind him to relay the notice to his friend, but suddenly stops dead in his tracks after seeing the tears that are streaming down Armin's dirty cheeks. Eren suddenly realizes that Armin is crying because of him and the guilt hit him again like a wave.
"A-Armin, holy shit, man—what's wrong?" Eren grabs his childhood friend by the shoulders, making eye contact. Swollen, red eyes full of tears meet the worried green ones and Armin breaks down.
"E-Eren... I was so scared it was going to kill you. I don't know what I would have done if you were gone," he mumbles as he clutches his fists tightly. Eren takes note that he's now trembling as he continues to babble.
"What would I have told Mikasa? She'd hate me, blame all of this on me. I wouldn't know how to live with myself. I-I don't want to lose you, Eren. You're so important to me. I don't want to lose you, you're like family," he whimpers out, voice cracking every few words, causing Eren to look away, ashamed.
"Look, man…I'm sorry, I should have been more careful, I know." Eren says, unsure of how to comfort his sobbing friend.
"What if you got hurt again like you did last time? What if it isn't just your side again, but somewhere where it can't heal. Some place I can't fix? What if you die, Eren?!" Armin yells, both mad and terrified. He pulls Eren close to him, embracing him.
"Please, Eren. Think about us…We're your friends…" He mutters into Eren's chest, tears and titan blood staining the brunette's shirt but Eren gently reciprocates the hug nonetheless.
"I promise I'll be more careful. Please don't worry about me, Armin." He speaks softly, patting the blonde lightly on the back while the tears slowly fade.
"You're so stupid sometimes, Eren. You know that?" Armin looks up, wiping his messy face as he stands up.
"Yeah, I know. I'll make dinner tonight to make up for it, okay? And I'll be more careful next time." Eren speaks calmly. Armin nods in agreement. Slowly, they walk back to their home, exhaustion wearing them both down.
AN: So ahhh, chapter three. Yay? Anyways, feel free to leave critiques, comments, and questions if you have any. I always enjoy getting feedback.