A/N: I hope you enjoy, reviews are much appreciated, and thank you to anyone for checking out this story! You're all amazing! :D


Training was always the most difficult part about the cadets. Having to wake up early, work yourself into the ground, eating little food at a time. But when you had something to look forward to by the end of it all, it was worth it. The pain, the sweat, the tears… all of it was worth it when you had something at the end of the day waiting for you.

For Jean and Armin, it was each other.

They finished their dinner's early, each leaving their respective tables at different times in order not to rouse suspicion, and met up in the barracks an hour before anyone else was finished their portions. The next hour was theirs to enjoy.

The moment Jean found the blonde waiting for him on his bed he immediately greeted him with a chaste kiss.

"God I missed you!" He exclaimed once they broke apart, making Armin giggle.

"You saw me all day." The blonde reminded.

The teen dug his face into the crook of Armin's neck and shoulder, kissing everywhere his lips touched feverishly. "Yes, but I couldn't kiss or hold you this close! It was driving me insane! I just wanted to be close to you!"

Armin bit his lip at the sensations running through his blood with each impassioned kiss to his skin. "Well we're here now, and we have a little time for ourselves before people start filing into the barracks. I believe you mentioned a date last night?"

Jean hummed at this, still kissing the soft skin he'd been aching to touch all day. "Right, well… maybe on our next rest day…"

Armin backed away from the man to give him some air to breathe so he could come up with something a bit more thought out. The look in his golden eyes said it all. He'd truly been aching just to be close to the blonde, and in no way was he wasting the little time he had just chatting and doing nothing with each other. Armin found this both a little sad… but incredibly sweet.

He kissed the teen's lips softly before placing a hand over his neck, rubbing his jawline with his thumb. "Our next day off we go out on our own? Maybe into Trost? Or did you have something else in mind?"

Jean hummed at the soft hand on his skin and melted into the pleasure of it all. "Anything you want, Armin. I'm all yours."

The blonde rolled his eyes and pulled the taller teen into a kiss, this time with more passion and sincerity.

Armin had taken most of the night to rethink about keeping all of this secret, thinking that maybe it'd be better for the two of them if they just came out and made it public. But upon further speculation, it wouldn't be the correct way to approach this. Not when relationships and couples were closely monitored by the instructors almost daily - Franz and Hannah getting the worst of them since the two were less than subtle about them being together. Not to mention the other cadets would have a field day of mocking them due to the fact that they were both male. It wasn't looked highly upon in places like the military to be with the same sex, and it definitely wouldn't look good for someone like Jean who wanted to be in the MPs. It was just a smarter decision to keep this out of everyone's sight until later on.

Besides, Armin enjoyed the alone time he had with the teen.

The taller of the two pulled his lover in closer and delved further into the kiss. If he was to be honest with himself, Jean never imagined getting anywhere near this kind of relationship while he was in the cadets. Especially with his rival's best friend. It wasn't as if he didn't like the situation they were in – in fact he was ecstatic to be part of this – but he knew there were risks. Risks he was willing to take… but still risks.

Armin suddenly pulled away from the teen, effectively making him whine in displeasure, before hugging the man tightly and nuzzling in under his chin.

"I'm happy you chose me." The blonde mumbled into Jean's chest. "I was beginning to think you never even knew I was there."

The teen was dumbfounded by the admission but gently hugged him back with a soft smile.

"How could anyone not notice you? You're amazing!"

Armin only hummed. "But I know you have a thing for Mikasa, so I can't help but feel a bit honoured that you'd choose me over her. I know you've had your eye on her for a while now, and…"

"Don't even worry about her." He interrupted, kissing the top of the blonde's head. "Nobody, especially me, has a chance in the world with her." He then snickered slightly. "Well… maybe Eren."

That still didn't make the blonde feel any better. He knew Jean well enough that he'd dump Armin in a heartbeat if it meant he had a chance to be with Mikasa. And he couldn't blame him. Mikasa was beautiful and fiery, she had passion to her. Armin was just this quiet little blonde who could barely keep up with the rest of the troops. His greatest asset was his mind, and that counted for nothing in battles against monsters like titans. It was all skill…

…and he had none.

Jean noticed the way Armin began to shrink in on himself and forced the blonde to look up at him by softly tilting his chin up.

"Quit looking down all the time." He commanded quietly. "I won't be able to see your eyes if you do. They're your best feature."

The boy only scoffed, but managed a small grin. "Thank you…"

They suddenly heard the voices of returning bunkmates and they immediately separated from each other. Not a moment sooner too since Eren came barging in and looking for Armin to practically yell at him for ditching him and Mikasa after dinner. It turns out that one of the instructors had come in and gave everyone an assignment they had to do with partners, and since Armin hadn't been there for Eren to partner up with, Mikasa had taken him in as a partner instead.

Armin only grinned innocently and glanced over at Jean. "Sorry Eren, but I've… uh… I've had a partner since yesterday. Jean got wind of the assignment from the instructor and said he'd like my help to bring up his mark in class. I couldn't say no."

"It's not that hard," the brunette explained, looking over at Jean. "Get lost!"

The other brunette stood from his bed and glared down at the shorter. "Too little too late, Yeager. Armin's my partner, so just back off."

The shorter pushed the taller. "Make me!"

Before an all-out fist fight could break out between the two, Armin got in the middle and kept them at bay. Honestly, it was usually Mikasa to break the fights, but since Armin was the only one not willing to put up with their childish behaviour at the moment, it was up to him to break up the fights.

"Eren," the blonde spoke softly, "he asked me politely if he could get my help and I agreed. It's nothing to start a fight over." He then glared slightly at Jean. "And if you still want a 'partner' Jean, then I expect you to act like a mature adult whilst dealing with my friends. They were by my side long before you and I hold them in higher regard. So please act your age."

He turned back to Eren. "And that goes double for you."

"What! Why me!?" The shorter brunette demanded.

Armin put his hands down from the boys' chests. "Because like it or not, Jean and I are… erm… partners. So we're going to spend some time together. The last thing I need is for you to be starting things because of your anger. I don't want to get Mikasa involved, but I'll have to if you can't control yourself. Okay?"

The tallest of the three grumbled at this but nodded. "Whatever you say, Armin. I am but your humble idiot partner."

Armin almost rolled his eyes at this but stopped mid-roll to look at Eren, who was looking at the two of them in anger and resentment.

"Tch… fine," he agreed angrily, "but keep horse-face at least ten feet away from me. The last thing I need is his garlic breath stinking up my day."

Jean cocked an eyebrow at this and looked down towards Armin, visibly asking with his face if this was true. Armin only shook his head before going back to his bed to read himself to sleep.

Once Eren was in his own bunk, he glared down at Jean. "You'd better pull your own weight, Kirstein. Armin isn't a tool to be used for your own vices."

Jean just climbed into his own bed and ignored the boy. If this was what he was like learning about the two being merely partners, he couldn't imagine the anger he'd have if he knew they were… well… partners.

The teen glanced over at Armin and gave a small smile at the peaceful scene before him. The boy still reading like nothing was going on, and grinning whenever he read a certain sentence he found worth the effort. And for a moment in that time Jean wished more than anything that he could join his in that bed and just fall asleep to the blonde's peaceful breathing and steady, warm breath. Maybe he'd sneak in later in the night while everyone was asleep and spend some quality time with him when he could, but it would mean possibly waking up Eren in the process.

A tough choice… but one he would gladly risk if it meant more alone time with Armin.

Despite not being all alone.