3 months later...

"Eren, please?" Armin begged, leaning forwards and lacing his hands together with Eren's. Eren looked up from his massive stack of homework, glaring at the blond mushroom in front of him.

"Armin, I have homework. You know I can't go," Eren said, warring with himself inside. He really wanted to know who Armin was begging him to see, but he also knew that if he allowed Armin to drag him to a concert, he'd probably not finish his homework. That couldn't happen.

Not again.

"Pleeeeaaase, Eren, I'm begging you! You've been cooped up in here for too long, and as your brother-"

"Half-brother," Eren corrected. Armin frowned.

"I'm still your brother. And AS your brother, I feel the need to bring you out to have some fun sometimes. Plus; I think you'll like this," Armin said, waving a pair of tickets in front of Eren's face. Smirking, he watched Eren's eyes follow them ceaselessly, knowing that Eren's curiosity would get the better of him.

"Gimme that," Eren said, reaching for the tickets in an attempt to see who the performers were, but Armin yanked them out of his grasp.

"Ah ah ah..." he said, watching Eren's eyes narrow.

"If you take the tickets, then you have to agree to come with me." Eren stilled, looking down at his homework and then back at Armin's hand, pain filling his features.

Since Armin had received the tickets, he'd known exactly what Eren would choose. As Eren snatched the tickets from Armin's hands, reading the names over and over again in disbelief, Armin knew he had him hooked.

"Armin, you..." Eren's eyes, wide and filled with tears, locked on to Armin's. Armin grinned.

"You got tickets to see No Name?! ON MARCH 30th?!" he screeched, uncrossing his legs and standing shakily. He gripped his shirt, the bandaged face of the singer of No Name showing in between his clenched fingers.

"Hahaha, I'm surprised you'd doubt me. I am your awesome little brother," Armin said, puffing out his chest and sitting up tall. Eren launched himself at Armin, laughing giddily.

"I me—EREN!" He shouted as Eren knocked him over, his excitement making Armin shriek with laughter.

"Oh my god I can't believe I get to see NO NAME!" he screamed, messing up Armin's hair. Armin swatted him away, handing Eren another small gift. Eren's eyes went wide and he looked up at Armin from his spot on the floor, confused.

"Why all the gifts? It's not even my birthday!" Armin paused, frowning.

"Eren." He looked up, unfazed.

"Yes?"

"What day do you think it is?"

"March 22nd. Why?" Armin blinked, but Eren was too busy trying to guess what Armin had gotten him.

"What?"

"It's March 22nd. Is there something wrong?" Armin reached for the gift, dragging it from Eren's hands and latching onto his wrist.

"That's it. I'm taking you to a bar. Come on," he said, pulling Eren up from the floor of their shared apartment and dragging him towards the door. He grabbed his and Eren's coats, thankful that they were both wearing their shoes already.

"But Armin!" Eren shouted, struggling in Armin's iron grip.

"MY HOMEWORK!"

..oo00oo..

"Wait, lemme get this straight," Eren started, taking a long sip of his Whiskey Cola. Armin could tell that Eren wouldn't last much longer, as this was his third Cola, but he decided to let Eren finish this one. He hadn't had the chance to loosen up much in the past few weeks; he even thought the date was that of seven days ago!

"So today is the 29th, tomorrow is my birthday, and we're going to see No Name tomorrow and not in a week?" Eren slurred, gesticulating wildly with his sloshing beverage. Armin pulled it from his grasp and placed it on the bar, patting Eren's arm reassuringly as he searched for his now missing drink.

"Yes, Eren. I can't believe you've even forgotten that it's your birthday tomorrow!"

"Wait, though..." Eren started, shaking his head distractedly. He stopped, seeming to lose interest in the conversation altogether, but Armin spurred him on.

"Yes?" Eren looked over at Armin, confused for a second. Then he seemed to understand, placing his hand on Armin's arm.

"Why did I open my presents today? If my birthday's tomorrow, then..." It was as if a lightbulb had gone off in Armin's brain and he laughed lightly.

"Oh! Because I didn't want to risk you making plans with someone and then having to cancel." Eren looked at him curiously.

"How do you know I wouldn't just go with them?" Armin laughed.

"Because that would be ridiculous, Eren. Passing up on seeing your favorite band to hang out with your friends, which you could do any other day?" Armin cackled and Eren smiled in return.

"Yeah, I guess that is pretty stupid," he said, lifting his new-found drink and finishing it in one gulp. He then slammed it back down on the bar, getting up out of his stool and making his way towards the door.

"Wait, Eren, you still haven't opened your-" It was too late. Eren was already out the door, stumbling off down the street, and Armin struggled to chase after him.

"Eren! EREN! WAI—OOF!" Armin rammed into someone, his glasses flying off his face and landing on the ground across the room. Armin put his hands on the man in front of him, apologizing profusely as he tried desperately to find his glasses. As soon as the man had moved slightly, he fell to his knees, searching the floor for his wire-rimmed three-hundred-dollar glasses.

"Hey, I know you," a deep voice said, and Armin reached for the blurry outline of his glasses on the floor, completely unfocused.

"Armin, right?" Armin stopped, his hands less than a foot from his frames.

"Umm..." Armin finally picked up his glasses, turning around and placing them on his face in one smooth move. Taking in the man before him, Armin's eyes went wide and he began to stutter.

"DR. ACKERMAN!" he shouted, scrambling up from his spot on the floor. He stared uncomfortably at the short man in front of him, dusting off his pants and tugging on his sleeve.

"Umm... It's nice to see you... I guess... I mean... ahhg!" Armin slammed his palm against his face, staring awkwardly at Levi through his fingers and smudged glasses.

"Tch. You should clean your hands off, or you'll get dirt everywhere." He looked away from Armin, obviously looking for someone, and Armin caught sight of red marks on the sides of his face, right above his ears. They would normally be hidden by his hair, but the light had been just perfect for Armin to see them.

"Dr., are you alright?" Armin asked, reaching out subconsciously. Levi's attention flew right back to Armin, and he covered his face protectively. He slapped Armin's hand away, pushing past him and walking towards a booth in the back of the bar.

"Dr., hey!" Armin turned and walked back towards Levi, but the man merely shoved his palm in Armin's face and stopped momentarily. He covered Armin's mouth, leaning in close and glaring menacingly.

"If you tell anyone what you just saw, I will rip you to fucking pieces. Got that?" Levi said, pulling his hand off Armin's face and rubbing it on the man's shirt.

"Disgusting..." he said, turning and stalking back towards his seat, and Armin finally remembered who he'd come here with. He immediately forgot about the strange burns, fear pulsating through his body.

"Oh shit." Armin rushed out the door, slamming it open and screaming,

"EREEEEEENN!"