Disclaimer: We don't own any of these characters and no one pays us for writing shitty fanfics. Yet. We hope that time will come soon. Feel free to send us money.
AN: Hello! After all this time we're actually back! Wow. Miracles do happen. We apologize for the hiatus, but here it is, the long awaited final chapter. And smut. We deliver what we Eremin won, but there's still some Jearmin moments :)
Eren dreamed of sleeping. After Armin's disappearance his dreams had become nightmares about things that could have happened to Armin. Torture, abuse, Armin alone, screaming, and every time Eren closed his eyes he couldn't do anything about it. Mikasa knew about his restless dreams, no doubt about it, but she hadn't said anything. She worried too, but didn't let it show.
They were walking along a sand road, Eren riding the horse and Mikasa walking next to him. The horse (Eren had jokingly began to call it Jean after it had thrown him on the ground couple of times) was getting tired since they had quickened their pace in hopes of catching up with Armin and his kidnappers.
"Are you awake?"
"Yeah. If you're thinking about getting a break I won't mind."
"That has to be the first time during this journey," Mikasa said. In other circumstances Eren would have laughed or said something back, but at the moment he was tired and worried and the only thing in his head was Armin.
He was almost dozing off when Mikasa's sudden movement alerted him and the horse.
"Jean! Calm down!" he yelled, trying to get the startled horse back into his control. "What the fuck Mikasa?"
The girl had disappeared into the bushes without a warning.
"Mikasa?"
He got off the horse and looked around him. His eyes scanned the surroundings and caught something on the ground. Two sticks that didn't look special, but that were positioned to look like an arrow that pointed towards the thick bushes. For someone else it wouldn't have meant anything special, but Eren knew immediately what it meant.
As Mikasa emerged back to the road Eren ran to her, forgetting about anything else including making sure the horse wouldn't escape.
"What does it say!" he demanded to know. Mikasa handed him the note.
Not going to use the bridge
heading to the mountains
prince is ok for now
The last sentence took some of the tension off Eren's shoulders. "This is great!" he yelled. "If they have to use detour we may get to them before the mountain area."
Mikasa hummed as an agreement and took the note back. "It can't be more than a day old."
"Let's go then!"
"If we catch up to them do you have a plan?"
"Huh? Yeah," the boy smiled, "It's called 'take the prince, hit some assholes and run'."
Mikasa took a calming breath. His brother was a complete idiot sometimes. "I'm not saying that your plan is bad," she said calmly, "But it is. Let's find shelter."
Eren let out a frustrated growl. "Why? I'm awake."
"The horse isn't."
"His name is Jean."
Mikasa glanced at the horse. "Her name is Jean. We can come up with a plan while she sleeps."
As the black hairedgirl fetched the horse Eren stared after her.
"Jeanette it is," he murmured and started walking after Mikasa.
After a thorough consideration, Armin had come to the conclusion that he hated the woods. No, that was unreasonable. More like the woods were not a place meant for human beings. Not at least human beings unable to see. Armin had no way of avoiding the devious roots and rocks littered across the path they had taken. The fact that his wrists were tied together in front of him wasn't making him all too graceful either.
Ever since the group had been forced to leave the horses behind they had been hiking through the forest on foot. Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt didn't care about Armin's constant stumbling as long as he managed to somewhat keep up with them. Jean had however eventually taken pity for the prince. Now the soldier was gripping Armin's elbow, gently guiding him past the worst obstacles.
Armin's knees buckled. He would have hit the ground if it hadn't been for Jean who grabbed him with both hands. Whatever was left of the boy's royal pride kicked in right then and he felt frustrated blush covering his cheeks. Not being able to walk by himself was humiliating, but absolutely nothing in his life had prepared Armin for day-long hikes in difficult terrain. There was no strength left in his limbs.
"Oy," Jean shouted irritatedly while supporting Armin, "We need to stop, he can't go on any longer!"
Bertholdt and Reiner looked behind them and stopped. They both turned their gazes to Annie, who was trailing behind all of them.
"If he's still conscious we'll continue," she stated. Her words made Jean groan.
"You heard her," Reiner said, "Get on your feet and walk by yourself or I'll tie you up and drag you along."
"Come on! He clearly can't walk! A short break won't kill us, right?" Jean tried. All eyes turned towards Annie, who watched the prince breath heavily on the ground.
"It wouldn't be good if he dropped now, would it?" Jean pressed on.
"Fine!" Annie raised her voice. "We'll take a break, anhour tops. If he can't walk by then you'll carry him. Got it?"
Jean nodded and after Annie made sure the spot would be safe they put their stuff on the ground and sat down.
Armin hugged his knees. "Thanks Jean. I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble," he said quietly. Jean rubbed the back of his neck.
"These people are nuts," he muttered.
The wind was howling and blowing right through the delicate fabric of Armin's cloak. You'd think that it wouldn't manage to blow so hard in the thick woods, but it did and Armin was shivering. At least the walking had kept him warm.
"It's so cold out here," the smaller boy gasped. "Do you mind if I..?" Jean wasn't sure what he was even asking before Armin inched to sit right next to him.
"O-oh. Right, sure, go ahead."
Armin huddled against Jean's side and after a moment of hesitation Jean wrapped an arm around the prince's shoulders.
We're just sharing body warmth, nothing weird about it, Jean told himself. Gods, I'm so full of shit.
It didn't take long for the prince to doze off. Jean made sure that nobody saw when he kept stealing glances of the Prince. He was small for his age, and his petite body shape and narrow shoulders made him look younger than he really was.
Jean wasn't stupid. He trusted Armin as a prince and, after all they had been through, maybe as a friend too. Still the situation felt off. As a soldier his job was to make sure Armin would get back to the castle without a scratch, but as a human being he had started to feel that he wasn't bound to the prince only because of his duty. There was something else, something that made him feel like Armin's and his connection ran deeper.
Awet rag flying towards him alerted him, and only his instincts that came from being a soldier saved him from the humiliation of getting hit on the face.
"We're leaving soon. Wake him up," Annie ordered. The others had also gotten up and were stretching while gathering their things. Jean removed his hands from Armin's shoulder quickly.
"Just a minute."
Annie walked towards Reiner and Berthold, but Jean knew she would keep her eyes on him. She had most likely noticed Jean and Armin getting closer, which wasn't a surprise when taking into account the fact that they were basically under their eyes all the time. That could lead to some trouble.
"Okay, time to wake up," Jean whispered to the sleeping boynext to him.
"Already?" Came the answer that was thick with sleep. "I feel like dying."
"I know. Come on, I'll carry you."
The prince was clearly against that idea, but Jean wouldn't let him walk. He looked over to the others that were waiting for him. They looked impatient.
Jean put his hand on Armin's waist and lifted him up. The prince immediately leaned to get some support. He really hadn't lied about that dying stuff.
"Alright, it's gonna be fine," Jean muttered with a calming voice as he took Armin to his back. He was ridiculously light, but Jean knew he wouldn't feel like that in a couple of hours.
Armin chuckled silently.
"What's funny?" Jean questioned.
"I did always say I wanted to travel well away from the city walls. Every cloud has a silver lining, I guess." After saying that Armin fell asleep, his breath warming the crook of Jean's neck, and the soldier could do nothing but agree.
"Oi, you got my shoe filthy."
To an outsider the scene would have been hilarious: a small man holding a big one by the collar and the bigger one on the verge of tears.
"I-I'm sorry!" the man cried, "I'll tell you anything!"
Rivaille still looked at his shoe. His expensive leather shoe that had been perfectly clean just a minute ago. And now it was stained by blood.
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to get blood out of clothes?" the man looked confused until a hard stare from Rivaille made him gulp.
"It nearly impossible. Isn't that a shame?"
"Anything. I'll tell everything I know! I swear!"
The short man dropped the other on the floor, taking a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiping his hands.
"I don't have all night, you know."
Taking audible deep breaths, the other started to speak. Rivaille gave himself a pat on the backfor his good threatening skills. They hadn't rusted justyet.
The man, who was now sitting on the floor and trying to stop his nose from bleeding told about the rebels, how their amount had been increasing during the last few years and why they had chosen the mountain area as a place for hiding. Rivaille knew almost everything the man said beforehand (being close to the King meant he heard the news firsthand) but as the topic turned to the kidnapping his eyes lit up.
"Why did they kidnap the Prince? You know about that a lot, do you?"
"Y-yes!" the man yelled, clearly relieved he had finally found a topic that interested the short man and could lead to surviving the encounter."I was in some of the meetings. As our numbers grew the ones on the top started talking about havingour own land and after discussing about it we managed to form a plan," the man breathed out. He stopped talking and turned his eyes towards the ground.
"Continue."
"...Before that promise you'll let me go! I have kids and a beautiful wife and -"
The situation was getting on Rivaille's nerves. I don't have time for shitty little whiners, he thought.
"Yeah yeah, I didn't come here to hear your life story, just get on with it."
The man took a deep breath.
"We knew that a thing wouldn't change in this political setting so we got some… allies."
Well that peaked Rivaille's interest. "Allies?" he asked and tilted his head.
"Y-yes. A certain family. An old one, with power. There was a deal that if we were to deliver the heir to the throne to them…"
"I see," Rivaille muttered. That was all he needed to hear.
"This has to do."
Reiner and Bertholdt sighed when the words left Annie's mouth and dropped their stuff onto the floor of the small room they had found. Or taken over since the building looked like someone may still be living in it, Jean thought, but he wouldn't complain. If the owner came back it wouldn't be his problem. The room was in the house's cellar, but only partly underground and the only source of light came from two windows that were near the ceiling.
"I'm glad we don't even have to stay the night," Reiner said, and even Jean agreed on that one. He too eyed the enormous rat that had ran behind some wooden boxes and big sacks. Yes, he had carried the Prince for three hours in challenging terrain and considered himself almost exhausted to death, but he would rather do it again than spend the whole night with some rats capable of eating an army. Fortunately they'd continue their journey as soon as the food supplies would be fulfilled.
Armin, who had slept through the whole hike to the small village that was their last resting point before reaching the mountains, hadn't woken up even when Jean had accidently tripped and dropped him.
He crouched down and gently laidArmin on the floor. He was still sleeping and Jean decided against waking him was eyeing the Prince, but seemed to have came to the same conclusion. He looked like he pitied the boy. A cold shiver went through Jean's back when he remembered the conversation between the two men. The rebels wouldn't be merciful with the young prince and everyone in the small room knew it.
Jean shook the cloak off his shoulders and threw it over the sleeping prince. Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt were going through the little supplies they had with them. They had been forced to leave most behind with the horses and the group was running low on food and water.
"We'll get some supplies from the village and then start the final portion of the journey," Annie announced. "Reiner comes with me, Bertholdt stays here."
The two blondes marched outside and the tall soldier, after looking indecisive for a moment, sat on a chair next to the exit.
"Sooo," Jean started, "How long it'll take before we're at the destination?"
Jean had learnt that when he wanted to ask something he should talk with the tall man if he wanted to get answers. Berthold smiled faintly before answering. "Just a little bit more than a day," he said and furrowed his brow,"If you're asking that because you had to carry the Prince, I'm sure Reiner or Annie can do it too."
"I guess so, but I like to think of this as training. You know, a fast way of getting muscles and all that."
The tall man let out a small laugh and the atmosphere lightened. They made some small talk before a comfortable silence fell over them, and Berthold got up and stretched his tall limbs.
"I'm going outside for awhile. Do you mind watching him during that time? I'll only be away for a couple of minutes.
"Y-yeah, sure," Jean managed to say, surprised of the fact that the other trusted him so much. Fubar smiled and left, but not before locking the door. Jean let out a frustrated breath. He had already hoped for a chance to get away, but Berthold clearly hadn't trusted him enough. With a locked door their chances of escaping were at minimum.
Jean slumped down against the wall next to Armin. The other stirred and got up to a sitting position. Jean hadn't even noticed that the Prince had woken up.
"We're alone, right?" Armin breathed.
"Yeah," Jean said and watched as one rat ate something in the corner - it looked like a huge spider. Oh dear.
"Can you tell what's around us? Tell every single detail!" Armin demanded.
Jean looked at the Prince, his eyebrows going up. "You did hear when Fubar locked the door, right? Or are you deaf too?" the joke left his lips before he could actually think what he had said, but Armin didn't seem to notice the kind of offending joke.
"Jean, I demand you to tell me. Prince's orders."
"Oh, the royal card," Jean snickered and stood up, "Uh, there's really not much. Couple of windows that are near the ceiling, wooden boxes that are full of… bags of crops?" Jean said as he lifted one cover off and looked inside a box. "Nothing else. If you don't count in those gigantic rats. One of them is staring at you from the corner. I think it wants to eat you? I saw it eat the biggest spider I have ever seen and trust me, compared to that you'd be just a snack."
Armin hummed as he stood up, taking support from the wall. "Do you think I could fit in one of the boxes? And if you could get yourself out of one of the windows?"
Jean stood still, a little bit confused until he sizedthe box and the window up with his eyes.
"If I say yes does that mean you have a plan?"
Jean didn't need an answer as a tiny smirk formed on Armin's face.
Rivaille had expected to see many things from his stalking place in the shadows of the leaves and branches high up in a tree. For example, he had been sure that the short, blonde woman and the big walking mass of muscle he had seen walking in the opposite direction were hiding in some of the sheds or abandoned old buildings he could see from the tree. He had expected to see many other things apart from spotting one of the soldiers, Jean Kirchstein, pushing himself and what seemed to be at least ten bags of something out of the window - it was an entertaining sight to see, the soldier getting his ass stuck for a moment - and if the situation would have been less serious with the missing Prince and all Rivaille would have smiled or even laughed.
After getting his body and the bags out of the window the boy closed it, but left it slightly open. Then he struggled to grasp all the bags and took off into the woods.
As strange as the sight had been, it only took a few minutes more to get even stranger. The short woman (somewhere in his mind Rivaille reminded himself that he was only a little bit taller than her) and the walking mountain went into the same building where Kirchstein had just went out, and moments later the two of them and the tall, sweaty one came out too, went to see the window and then started running in the same direction as Kirchstein.
When all of the kidnappers were out of his sight Rivaille jumped down from his hiding spot and after making sure nobody was around he went to check things out. It wouldn't hurt to take a look around while the kidnappers were busy.
Armin's plan had been great - well, as great as a plan that was improvised in a few minutes could be - but Jean was realizing that there was something neither him or Armin had thought of: All three of Armin's kidnappers were now running after him, and they weren't as slow as Jean had wished. He had already lost some time hiding the bags and now he was breathing hard, his legs were giving up under him and he could hear the sounds of his chasers behind him.
Years of being a soldier told Jean to expect an impact, and seconds later a heavy weight slammed against his back, sending him flying. He took the hit with his shoulder and, despite the pain radiating to his arm from his injury, quickly rolled overand stood up, stepping away from Reiner as he tried to hit him.
Jean didn't need to see that his three opponents unsheathed their swords. He'd recognize the sound in his sleep. Crap. Truth be told he had no clue how he was going to survive three elite soldiers without his sword. Instead of dwelling on that, Jean sprinted away. Well, he tried, but the light footsteps that he heard coming after him told that Annie was about to attack. That woman plus a sword was a killing machine and even though Jean knew they wouldn't kill him because they'd need to know where the Prince was they could still seriously hurt him.
Jean wasn't a big fan of being hurt.
Jean braced himself for pain and misery as felt his legs give out under him, but they never came. Looking around, Jean could have sworn it was an angel (it wasn't, but seeing Mikasa in that kind of situation would make everyone see angels). She surged towards the blonde without any weapons in her hands and successfully knocked the other's sword down with a kick. Jean tried to get up on his feet, but a kick to his side send him back down. It wasn't Reiner, it wasn't Berthold...
It was the motherfucking Jaeger, looking at him angrily and cursing, before he let out some sort of a war cryand lunged towards Berthold, who was looking really stressed and was clearly unsure whether he should join the battle or not .
"Fucking brat," Jean muttered under his breath and hauled himself up. He could barely get up on his feet before air was knocked out of his lungs again. Reiner had grabbed the front of his shirt and slammed his back against a tree. How a man that big had even managed to sneak upon him, Jean would never know.
"Whoa there," Jean held his hands up as a sign of surrender.
"Where's the Prince?" Reiner asked through gritted teeth. He was shaking slightly, but most likely out of anger. "I fucking knew from the start that you're full of shit."
"C'mon Braun," Jean said, trying to sound calming. "This isn't right and you know it."
"That doesn't answer my question Kirchstein." Rainer raised his fist and Jean braced himself for the face-shattering impact.
This time around there were no saving angels and the fist hit Jean hard in the chin, making him see stars and the answers of the universe in his eyes. He couldn't make himself get up even when he heard more people coming to the battle scene, which wasn't a surprise since all the yelling and the sounds of weapons couldn't go unnoticed.
Minutes later Jean was sitting up and nursing his aching jaw. Reiner Braun's strength had been legendary among the soldiers and Jean was happy that he wouldn't have to suffer from his fists anymore. The big man was laying on the ground, face flat against the rocky soil as the royal troopswere putting him in chains. Berthold was having the same kind of treatment while the Jeager brat paced around. Jean rubbed his chin and let out a long sigh. Armin's plan had worked. The kidnappers had been brought down. They had won. It was over.
Except it wasn't. The two men of the trio had been brought down, but possibly the most dangerous piece of the puzzle was still missing.
"Hey… Where's Annie?"
"She's right here."
The soldiers, Jean, Eren and even Reiner, who had to turn his head in a position that looked slightly uncomfortable to get a peek turned their gazes on Mikasa. She had a split lip and her eye would be black the next day but she still looked victorious. Next to her was Annie Leonhardt. The short blonde looked way worse than Mikasa. It seemed that they had settled their little quarrel about who was a better fighter that had been going on since the short woman had joined the army. Mikasa was yanking the other girl by her collar, and when they were near where Reiner was lying down she dumped the other on the ground to join her team.
"Fall, Leonhardt."
Before Jean had even mentally or physically recovered from his previous fight a palm slammed against the back of his head.
"I knew there was a reason I always hated you," Eren snarled.
"Right," Jean scoffed. "What a terrible person I am, looking after the Prince, risking my life, carrying him around and shit! Especially since you, Jaeger," Jean poked Eren's chest so hard he almost had to take a step back, "have been so goddamn helpful over the past days."
Eren just scowledand pinned Jean's back against a tree with his forearm. "Where is he?" he asked with a low voice.
"Relax, stop spitting on my face and I'll take you to him. Deal?"
Eren grunted quietlyand slowly let the taller boy go.
"Well? We don't have all day, horse face."
Mikasa joined them as they left the soldiers to deal with the kidnappers. Jean made his way through the woods, following the path he had been running. It didn't take them long to reach the building where Armin was supposed to be hiding.
As they went in Eren pushed Jean out of his way before running into the room which door was open.
"Armin! You here? Answer me!"
Eren's voice echoed in the small and mostly bare room, scaring couple of rats away.
"Armin?" Jean's concerned voice called out. He made his way to the wooden boxes.
There was no Prince to be seen.
One glance to Eren's face let him know the boy was on the verge to beat him up.
A glimpse to Mikasa told that the girl would help.
"He-he was here!" Jean sputtered.
"What, he left for an evening stroll through the woods?" Eren took some threatening steps towards Jean, who had no idea how to get the situation under control.
"Look I swear I left him right here, and the only way we can find him now is to look for him. Maybe someone came here before us."
"Who, exactly?!" Eren spat out, "the assholes who took him are tied up. The soldiers are there too! So who the fuck was here before us?"
"I don't know!" Jean yelled back, "but you can't be saying that Armin is stupid enough to go wander around by himself."
Eren was about to hit the other boy no matter how true the thing he had just said was when Mikasa's hand gripped his shoulder. "He's right Eren. Armin's not stupid. Someone was here."
Eren lowered his fists with a huff. As satisfactory as punching Kirchstein would be it would do nothing to help the problem at hand.
"Let's go find him," he muttered. The moment he dared to think that it would all be over and Armin would be safe some new problem would raise its ugly head. It was really starting to affect his determination.
The trio headed out. They looked around, at the widespread tree line in front of them and the few alleys leading further into the village behind them.
"He can't have made it far," Mikasa muttered into her scarf.
"Well he didn't go into the forest for sure," Jean exclaimed.
"How come?"
"Trust me," Jean rubbed the back of his neck, "he has no idea how to move in forest terrain."
Eren couldn't disagree. "Into the village it is."
They really didn't know where to start looking, so they went to check the nearby buildings and animal shelters. After finding only two goats, four chickens and one man passed out they decided to start looking closer to the town center, if one could call it that since it only had fewer than dozen buildings.
For some unknown reason (it being Eren and Jean's stupidity) the three of them started by looking at the back alleyssince "the bastard who took him wouldn't be having a dinner in plain sight". Mikasa had disagreed, but decided to follow the two males to make sure they wouldn't do anything stupid.
She stood nearby while the two boys were quarreling about who could find Armin sooner. While Mikasa looked at the fighting idiots and tried to think up a plan, one of the soldiers lingered near her.
"Uh," he said and Mikasa's head turned slightly towards him, "I have seen you and those two running around and searching for something… What's lost? Can I help find it?"
"Not it," Mikasa said, "Him."
"Him? Did you lost a soldier or something?" the man was seriously confused.
"Something like that. We won't need any help."
The soldiers face fell and Mikasa understood that he may have been flirting with her. "Well," he said and took couple of steps back, "If you get hungry or anything come to the tavern. It's not a big place but there's free food since they're celebrating the successful mission."
As the man walked away Mikasa counted to ten, went to separate the two boys who were yelling at each other and hit both of them on the head. They surely were idiots.
Surely enough, the long lost Prince was in the local tavern, huddled on a bar stool. Next to him, sitting on the table with his legs crossed, was ex-Corporal Rivaille himself.
"Took you long enough," he glared.
"Eren!" Armin hastily stood up and faced the direction of his old friend. He had recognized Eren even before hearing his voice, like usual. The brunet boy met his friend half wayand pulled the other boy in a tight hug. He couldn't care less if the soldiers or Rivaille were watching while he squeezed Armin against his chest.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I'm going to watch after you like a hawk from now on."
"And I'm going to keep him from getting in your way," Mikasa said as she joined the hug.
"I missed you too," Armin laughed.
After a while Eren released Armin and looked for signs of any injuries. He found none, but the Prince did have bags under his eyes and he was shivering slightly. Rivaille must have spotted that too since Armin wore his cloak.
"This is all very touching and all," Jean cut in, "but could someone please explain what the hell happened here?"
Armin smiled timidly. "Well, our plan worked out pretty well."
"Your plan?" Eren questioned.
"My kidnappers were outside the building they had been holding us captive in, so I hid into this storage box while Jean climbed out of the window. They thought that we had both escaped and went after Jean," Armin explained.
"You weren't supposed to get out of there on your own though," Jean said with a scolding voice. "Anyone could have found you."
Armin's cheeks tinted red. "I didn't get out of there on my own."
He gestured towards where he thought Rivaille sat with an unimpressed look on his face.
Armin's heart had almost pounded out of his chest back when he had been huddled uncomfortably in that storage box and heard footsteps approaching. Maybe Jean had been killed and his captors were coming for him, or a bounty hunter of some sort had seen Jean's escape and connected the dots. The element of surprise was (kind of) on his side, so he could try and jump on whoever would open the box, but that wouldn't probably help since he couldn't exactly run away.
Someone entered the room and the unusually light footsteps came to a halt.
"Tsk. It's filthy here," the familiar voice said. Armin's breath hitched. Could it be?
"You here, Your Highness?" Rivaille called out. The Prince had never been so happy to hear his voice.
After getting Armin out of the box and trying to swipe all the dirt off the Prince Rivaille had wrapped him in his cloak and had gone to the tavern to get food for the damsel in distress.
None of them had much energy left after hearing what had happened. They all fell asleep after eating, some of them sleeping on long benches and others snoring while sitting. Armin, being a Prince, got an old, used mattress that the tavern's owners had brought to him. He didn't mind and fell asleep the second he lieddown. Rivaille and few other soldiers sat near the sleeping prince. Nobody wanted to lose the Prince the second time.
After the overnight rest it was time to make the journey back into the royal palace. The mood was sort of awkward. Everyone was relieved that the Prince had been restored in one piece, but at the same time everyone knew that the reckless actions that had been taken wouldn't go without consequences. Jean would most likely get off the hook (Armin would make sure of that with his testimony), but the dungeons were almost certainly awaiting Eren and Mikasa since they had failed to take orders.
While having a break from traveling all day Rivaille decided he would take action. The brats were basically closest thing to his own kids he'd ever have and even though Rivaille knew Erwin was merciful there were things the King wouldn't be able tolook between his fingers. One was acting without the King's permission - even though the cause had been good. He gestured Eren to follow him when he left their temporary camp to wash his hand in a nearby river.
"Uh, you want to talk or something?" Eren asked surprisingly timidly considering his normal attitude.
"You and me both know what's awaiting you when we get back. Or did I overestimate your intelligence?"
Eren frowned and looked at his hands. "I know."
Rivaillekneltdown and started washing his hands. "I'm offering you and Mikasa a deal. No one else will hear about this, am I clear?"
Eren nodded silently.
"I'll tell the King that even though you brats acted irrationallyit was because of you that the Prince was saved. He'll probably forgive you, but still give a punishment of some kind."
Rivaille turned his gaze towards the boy, who had his head turned away.
"I'll take whatever punishment without a complaint. I won't regret going for Armin's aid. Mikasa won't either."
The shorter male hummed and got up. He walked next to Eren and put his hand on top of the other's shoulder and said, "That's exactly what I wanted to hear."
The rest of the journey back to the castle went without any setbacks. The rebels most likely hadn't even heard the news about the failure of their plan and wouldn't be causing any troublefor them. Besides, Rivaille had sent a messenger to go before them to deliver information about the situation so that Erwin would know to send soldiers to destroy the rebels' camps.
Before they reached the castle Armin asked for Jean to be the one who lead his horse. Eventually Eren gave in and agreed to allow them some privacy. Once Armin could hear that the other riders were out of earshot he drew in a long breath.
This was not a conversation he was looking forward to have.
"Um, Jean."
The other one grunted to show he was listening.
"I'm sure it goes without saying that I'm very grateful for all you've done for me. I'll see that your efforts won't go unrendered," he said awkwardly. Armin had the bad habit of hiding behind his royal facadé when he was in loss of words.
"I didn't do it for a reward," Jean answered curtly.
"I know that," Armin sighed and decided to cut to the point. "Look, I feel like some things I did or said were a little… unfair. Towards you."
There was no reply.
"It's not that I deliberately wanted to manipulate or mislead you, I just… Either way. It was unfair."
"It's fine. I knew, on some level anyway. That it wouldn't work," Jean cut in.
For a moment they went on without a word.
"It's that Jaeger brat isn't it?"
Armin almost fell off his horse. "Wh-what? No! I mean, I-"
Jean let out a half hearted laugh. "Sorry, it wasn't my place to ask Your Highness. Oh, the castle is on sight now!"
There was nothing left to say, so the two made the rest of the journey in silence.
Armin knew that Jean would be mature about all of this and wouldn't hold a grudge. That knowledge did nothing to lessen the quilt that was twisting his guts, though.
Being torn out of bed by force sucked, but Armin found that waking up without Eren sucked even more. It had been a few months since he had returned into the castle and it still felt off somehow.
A servant knocked on the door and entered to wake the Prince up. She opened the curtains as Armin sat up and stretched his arms above his head. Since Eren wasn't in the castle anymore Armin prefered to dress by himself. The servants only put the clothes on a neat pile next to his bed and then left the room. At first it had been hard and Armin had put the shirt on backwards more times he could count, but after a while he figured it out. Almost.
He got the clothes on with little difficulty and made his way to the castle's front gate. Mikasa would be waiting for him since he had told her about his plan the day before. While Eren had gotten most of the "blame" for saving him Mikasa had gotten her share too. Her rank had been lowered a little bit, but it was mainly a formality since everyone knew losing Mikasa would have been a great loss. She was one of their most skilled fighters after all.
Eren, on the other hand, had been banned from the castle and was now working as a stable boy. He didn't live far away, but Armin couldn't just walk out to meet him unlike Mikasa, who visited him almost daily.
Armin arrived to the meeting spot, but Mikasa wasn't there yet as he didn't hear anyone approaching him. He listened the wind for a while before his stomach grumbled loudly, reminding him about skipping breakfast. It would have to last until he got to Eren's place.
Armin concentrated to his surrounding again when he heard footsteps.
"Good morning, Prince Armin," the person said. It was Jean. Armin smiled and nodded as an answer. When they had came back Armin had made sure Jean was treated like a victim of the situation. Basically he had been kidnapped alongside the Prince and without him and his notes Armin would have been in the hands of the enemy with no hope for a rescue. Jean hadn't received a punishment for his brave act because he hadn't had any other choice whileMikasa and Eren had acted without the King's permission to do so.
Speaking of the King… Armin recognized the determinant footsteps and decided that trying to dash out of sight would only make him seem more suspicious. He leaned his back to the wall and tried to seem casual.
"Oh my. You're up early," Erwin said and halted in front of his adoptive son.
"Good morning, Erwin," Armin replied and smiled to his general direction.
"Who are you waiting? Or are you, by any chance, just standing here?"
Armin turned his head away from Erwin. Why did he have to arrive just then? There was no way he could hide the truth from this man.
"I'm waiting for Mikasa." Erwin didn't answer and Armin took it as a sign to continue. "I'm going to meet Eren with her."
Erwin hummed. "I'm sorry, but I'm not allowing that. There's no way I'd let you go out of the castle with only one soldier. No matter how great you think you're disguised with that cloak."
Well, plan A had failed. It was time to play dirty.
"You know, I was walking back from the library couple of days ago. As I passed one storage room I heard some strange sounds coming inside," the Prince started and kept a little pause to make sure the other was fully listening. "I could have sworn that I heard Rivaille's voice. And yours. And you certainly weren't talking."
A pressuring silence followed. It was a gamble to say something like that, but Armin really felt like seeing Eren. He winced when a large hand landed on his forehead.
"You will either make a terrible king or a great one," Erwin mused and ruffled Armin's bangs a bit. "See that private Ackerman stays right beside you at all times no matter what you may be doing with that stable boy. That's an order."
With that, Erwin walked away.
"Y-yes!" Armin called after him.
Mikasa arrived soon after and Armin had to cover his smug smile. They left the castle without problems and made their way towards Eren's new home. The boy had taken a day off just to spend his time with the Prince and his adoptive sister.
The first thing Armin noticed about Eren's "home" was the smell of horses and the noises that came with those animals. The second thing was a hard chest in front of him and the feeling of Eren hugging him.
"Good morning to you too," Armin laughed as his friend refused to let go. It was a thing that seemed to happen pretty often lately, like Eren feared that Arming would be snatched away again. Not that Armin minded at all.
They climbed to the upper level of the stall where Eren had his mattress and belongings.
It's a bit of a downgrade from the palace, Eren had said when Armin had visited the stables for the first time, but it still beats the dungeon I think. Armin agreed, this was way better once you got used to the smell.
Besides, if Armin really would end up inheriting the throne Eren would be back in the castle in no time.
Mikasa had brought bread and water from the castle and the three of them ate it for breakfast. For Armin it was quite a bit more modest than what he would have been having in the palace, but he could deal. They talked about this and that while eating and sometimes fell into a comfortable silence. The dynamics of their trio had hardly changed even though their lives had taken quite a turn.
"For a prince you're a pretty messy eater," Eren said and reached to brush bread crumbs off the corner of Armin's mouth. Armin could feel a slight tingle where his friend's thumb had lingered for a moment and his cheeks were heating up. He hoped they couldn't tell.
The dynamics of their trio hadn't changed, but something else surely had.
A nod was exchanged, which Armin was oblivious to. Mikasa stood up.
"I'll go check the surroundings," she said with her usual, flat tone of voice.
"Okay," Armin answered.
"I won't go far so call out if you need anything."
The ladders that lead down from the upper level creaked as she climbed down and then there was silence.
"Uh, Armin," Eren said after a while, "There's something I want to talk about. It's kinda serious and… can you just promise to listen to the whole thing before making judgements?"
"Sure? What is it?"
Armin turned towards his friend, who was sitting next to him on the mattress. He lifted his hand and put it on Eren's leg when he found it. It didn't take long for Eren's hand to cover his.
"I don't know if you have noticed - uh, most likely you haven't since I have mostly been watching you - not in a perverted way!" Eren almost yelled and took couple of calming breaths, "I have considered you as my best friend ever since you taught me how to read and at first I felt like there was something wrong with me when I started to think that maybe there was something else than just being friends. Of course I thought about all this social class stuff, but after what happened I couldn't deny what I felt for you."
"Eren -"
The brunet quickly silenced the Prince with the palm of his hand.
"I was so scared when you disappeared. It was the best feeling in the world when I got you close to me again and saw that you were safe and uninjured."
Eren's hand moved from Armin's mouth to cup his cheek. The Prince, who was normally quick to analyse and understand things that weresaid to him, sat still with his mouth hanging slightly open.
"If you want to pretend this never happened it's okay, I just needed to get this off my chest."
Eren was too afraid to look at Armin. That's why he was taken completely by surprise when his friend's hands landed on his shoulders. He expected to be pushed away, but instead the delicate hands kept trailing up his neck. Armin's fingers moved in a hesitant but urgent manner as his fingertips grazed over Eren's jawline and cheeks. Eventually they found his mouth and that's when Armin surged forward and reached Eren's lips with his own.
Eren's mind went blank as the smaller boy pressed their lips together more firmly. The kiss itself short and clumsy at first, but it made Eren feel really happy inside.
Neither of them was particularly experienced, so their teeth were clashing together and noses bumping. It was still very enjoyable once they started to find a common rhythm. Eren pulled his fingers gently through Armin's hair and the other one tugged lightly at the collar of his shirt to pull him closer.
"Push your tongue out," Eren breathed out. Armin complied without hesitation and Eren carefully sucked at it. Armin hummed pleasantly and moved forward to sit on Eren's lap.
Armin pressed his hips against Eren's thigh. There was no way to hide the fact that both of them had boners. It was a bit embarrassing, but it reassured both of them they were enjoying the situation equally. Eren's hand that had been caressing Armin's lower back went to lay on top of their boners. The movement made Armin moan out loud and cover his mouth with his hand. It all felt so good. The Prince was no stranger to sexual things, but he had never actually done anything. Prince's don't get to fool around, but that didn't mean he hadn't tried some things by himself. Nothing had felt as good as Eren's hand, which was stroking their erections through their pants. Without his eyesight Armin's other senses were more sensitive than an ordinary person's. It was no wonder why he reacted so easily.
"Don't hold anything in," Eren whispered to him. His breathing was getting heavier.
"Wasn't my intention," the blond joked as Eren's hand first took his own and then Armin's cocks out of their pants and slowly started to stroke them together. Armin buried his face in Eren's neck.
Eren palmed the tips and stroked faster as Armin, who tried to keep his voice down, kissed along the brunet's neck and jawline.
All the stimulation became too much for the Prince sooner than he would've liked to admit and he spilled his loadon Eren's hand. The other boy followed soon after hearing and seeing Armin coming.
"That wasn't completely unpleasant," Armin whispered and lifted his head from Eren's shoulder.
"Um… Yeah." Eren felt a little bit dazzled. He had just wanted to tell his friend he liked him, how did he end up with Armin on his lap and cum stains all over his pants? Not that he was complaining.
Eren reached for a table cloth and used it to wipe both of them clean. He then gently tied the strings of Armin's pants.
"I kinda miss dressing you every morning," he muttered. They both laid down on the straws and Eren wrapped his arms around Armin's Prince looked absolutely cute, laying next to him with with dirt on his hair and a light blush covering his cheeks.
"You? Being cheesy? I miss the old Eren," Armin laughed and moved his own hand until it rested on the other boy's waist. Eren kissed Armin's forehead before he laid his own head down.
Eren would have been content just cuddling there, but soon he felt Armin's fingers snaking their way up his sides and rubbing at his chest.
"You never took your shirt off," Armin noted.
"Neither did you," Eren noted.
"Prince's orders. Take the shirt off."
"Anything to please my future King," Eren said. He was a little confused by Armin's quick mood swings, going from cute to demanding in seconds. He still did as he was told andgot into a sitting position to take the piece of clothing off. Armin too sat up and raised his arms so Eren could pull off his shirt as well.
Armin put his hands shyly on Eren's chest before he started to feel the other up. They had been friends for years, but it was the first time for Armin to be able to touch the other so freely. Eren had good muscles that had developed from years of cleaning under Rivaille's surveillance and the recent hard labour from taking care of the stables. Deep inside Armin felt a bit jealous but hey, the muscles were there for him now so he wouldn't complain. Eren was oddly still, giving Armin time to explore with his hands.
"Is something wrong Eren?" the Prince asked when there were no reactions from the brunet apart his breath hitchingfrom time to time. For Armin the situation was turning into something more heated once again, so why wasn't Eren responding?
"Okay, that's it," Armin said, "you confessed to me and said I don't need tohold back so guess what? That's exactly what you're going to get."
Armin gave Eren no time to react before he yanked the other boy on top of him and wrapped his legs around Eren's waist to prevent him from escaping. His hands found their way around the brunet's neck and he pulled the other's mouth against his for a heated kiss. He wouldn't let Eren get second thoughts about all this.
A strong hand pushing his chest made him retreat from the kiss and get the chance to breath.
"Don't you want this as much as I do?" the Prince whispered and stroked the short strands of hair on the base of Eren's neck.
The other boy smiled, kissing Armin's cheek lightly. "Can't you see how much I want you?"
"Haha Eren, that was hilarious," Armin sneered. As a revenge he pulled the other closer with his legs so that their growing erections brushed together. Both of them let out sounds of pleasure.
"Y-you don't happen to have something to use as… you know?" Armin managed to say while Eren moved his hips agonisingly slowly, creating friction between their lower parts.
The brunet's voice hid none of his excitement as he said, "Actually, when I got kicked out I took my cleaning stuff back to the cleaning supply closetand I saw a bottle of something."
"Let me guess, whatever it is it's Rivaille's?"
Eren nodded against his throat. He sucked on a spot that wouldn't show under a shirt and got the Prince out of his pants. Then Eren stood up and walked to the little box that contained all his possessions while Armin listened at the shuffling impatiently. Eren walked back to him and yanked the bottle open. There were wet sounds when Eren spread the oily liquid on his skin.
"Spread your legs, please."
Armin didn't hesitate to do just that. He laid his back against the coarse straws and hooked his hands behind his knees to spread his legs as open as possible. Soon he could feel a slightly cool touch against his entrance.
Armin knew from firsthand experience that Eren's cock wasn't as small as the thing that was currently probing him.
"You're putting in your finger? I'm pretty sure that's not how it works," Armin joked.
"Shut up," Eren murmured. "I'm gonna do this properly. Trust me, it'll feel better this way."
Armin huffed impatiently. Eren was right of course but Armin still would have preferred to have the other boy inside him right away. Eren pressed a kiss on Armin's knee and pushed the first digits of his finger in. It slipped in effortlessly. Rivaille clearly invested in quality.
To make things more comfortable for Armin Eren grabbed his dick and started pumping before reaching deeper with his finger and adding another. The Prince was panting, but he didn't seem to be in pain, so Eren added a third finger. This time Armin looked more uncomfortable and momentarily Eren panicked about hurting him, but the look soon passed away.
Eren decided to play safe so he asked: "Are you okay? I'm not hurting you, right?"
"Ah, no, it just feels strange. The fingers, I mean. I think I'm ready?"
Eren removed his fingers and positioned himself over Armin. It felt overwhelming. The boy he had loved for years felt the same way, not caring about the difference in their social status, and was willing to go this far for him. He pushed the tip in and waited a moment before sliding in agonizingly slowly for Armin's liking. It felt like he was stretched beyond his limits, but the pain wasn't bad - all thanks to Eren's preparations, wherever he had learned to do so - and soon Armin tested moving around a bit. It didn't feel bad, so he moved some more, making it clear for Eren that he could start moving. The taller boy pulled his cock halfway out before going back in and setting up a pace.
It was clumsy and awkward, but Eren's gasps of air told the Prince he was enjoying himself. He himself wasn't getting much pleasure from the act, but Eren's hand on his erection made sure he wasn't going limb. That was until Eren's dick reached a bit deeper than before. At first Eren got startled by Armins sudden gasp and halted, scared that he had thrusted too roughly in his excitement.
"Aw shit, Armin, sorry, i'll go slow-"
Armin gripped the back of Erens neck.
"No, do that again," he moaned.
Eren moved again in a same way and made Armin bite down on his neck. The movement was still awkward though, and Eren didn't reach that sensitive spot as often as the Prince beneath him would have preferred. Since he was the one doing the receiving, he deserved that much, Armin decided.
"Hey Eren, why don't you lie down instead?" Armin suggested coyly. Even moving his hips to meet Eren's was a chore in this position.
"You don't like it this way?" Eren sounded embarrassed even through his arousal.
"Get over yourself," Armin said and gave Eren's nose a playful smooch. He then ever so gently pushed Eren off of him. Eren was feeling a little down, but who wouldn't after your lover saying they haven't enjoyed themselves between the lines? He tried to push those thoughts away as the smaller boy sat up and went to sit on Eren's lap, straddling him, moving his small hips towards his. The blond wrapped his hand around Eren's cock before guiding it back inside of him. The Prince started moving, slowly at first, trying to find the perfect position for them both.
Whatever insecurities had been bothering Eren under a minute ago were long gone now. Now that Armin controlled the pace and angle he could see how much more the blond was enjoying. Armin had finally found a position that worked the best and it felt really good. He quickened the speed and didn't bother to muffle the moans and whimpers when Eren's hand made contact with his now hard erection.
Eren could feel himself being close to coming. The feeling was settling in his lower parts and he knew he wouldn't last long, so he yanked Armin's head down and kissed him, whispering "I'm close" against his lips. In response the Prince started rolling his hips while taking Eren's cock inside, driving the other boy crazy.
Eren's cock was pulsing and pre-cum was dripping out already. Eren was panting frantically and rolling his hips to meet Armin's. Eventually he just had to give in and let the pleasure wash over him. The thought of pulling out occurred to Eren too late and he ended up ejaculating inside the blond, who didn't stop riding him for a moment.
"Ho-ly shit," Eren gasped as Armin kept milking his orgasm. The pressure around his now over-sensitive dick kept still sending shivers up his spine and it was becoming almost too much to bear. Eren had thought to this day that he knew what a proper orgasm felt like, but he had definitely been wrong.
Determined to push his friend over the limit too, Eren kept pumping Armin's erection with newfound determination and smeared the few beads of precum over the tip to slicken the movement. Delicious gasps filled the air as Armin was getting closer too.
Eren had to take a moment to appreciate the sight of the Prince on the verge of climaxing, cheeks flushed pink and a light sheen of sweat covering his naked body, hair tousled and eyes squeezed shut. A moment later he came on Eren's hand, slumping afterwards against the brunet's sweaty chest. They lay down, catching their breaths until Armin murmured: "If this gets better in time I may die some day."
Eren let out a small chuckle as he pulled himself out and flipped Armin on his side.
"Does this mean you want to do it again?"
"Does it look like I wouldn't? This is why I'm the smarter one."
"That you are," Eren said and snuggled closer to Armin's petite body. His own body felt warm and drained, if not a little damp from the sweat and other bodily fluids between them. Eren was aware that they would have to sooner or later tidy up since it would become uncomfortable to just lie there, but he was going to enjoy the moment for what it was worth. Eren closed his eyes and breathed in Armin's familiar scent (soap and dust from the library mostly) along with the reek of the stables. The bustling of the village around them and the screams of the seagulls blended as a background for the steady rhythm of Armin's breathing.
"Sooo when do you get the next chance to sneak away from the castle?"
Bonus scene:
Life without Eren as Rivaille's little helper was a curse and a blessing. There were no more dirt hidden under rugs or Eren's constant complaining about doing dirty jobs, but then again Rivaille was now on charge of the whole castle. While he enjoyed cleaning, taking care of a huge building wasn't exactly easy.
Well, at least he had a great way of relieving stress. It usually involved a cleaning supply closet and a very hot man who just happened to be the King. No big deal. This time wasn't an exception. Both of their shirts were long gone and they were just about to do some stress relieving when Rivaille searched around the shelf where the lube usually was…
…and found plus two quickly matched in Rivaille's head as he remembered Eren being the last person to use that particular closet.
"Fucking brat."
AN: There it was. We thank anyone who made it this far and people who sent us feedback and comments about how they actually wanted to read this till the end.
As usual grammar mistakes and such can't be avoided with us, so if you happen to notice something big (like a sentence not making sense, wrong words etc) please tell us. Reviews and constructive criticism are something we always look forward to.
We're also looking for a beta, so if you want to read shitty fanfiction send us a message! Only requirements are a) you're a human b) you have some sense of grammar.
Thanks for reading!
~Jazzy & Janice