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


"Okay, what are you guys hiding?" Eren asked the three guilty looking teens in front of him.

Reiner was as stoic as ever, Marco tried not to look the brunette in the eye, and Bertolt was sort of hiding behind Reiner in hopes Eren wouldn't notice him too much. The three had promised Jean they'd keep everyone away from them so he could tell Armin the truth, but it was more difficult than they'd imagined due to the fact that the brunette had wanted to hang around with Armin, even though his partner was Mikasa.

The irritated brunette rolled his eyes. "Come on, where is he?!"

Reiner shrugged. "Like I said, we haven't seen Armin or Jean for that matter. The two probably went off to gather some food for dinner. That is the point of the exercise, isn't it? Teaming up and heling out everyone for survival?"

"Yes, but I've just about had it with Mikasa doing everything for me!" Eren admitted. "At least with the extra time I can check up on Armin and make sure Jean isn't getting too close to him. I don't know if you've noticed, but he's been acting weird around Armin ever since he stopped that pervert cadet from laying his hands on him. It's like they bonded or something."

"Or something…" Marco muttered, making Reiner chuckle under his breath.

"Look, Yeager," Reiner patted a hand on the boy's back, "don't worry about those two! It's not some unwritten rule that Armin has to hate jean just because you do! Hell, I think they look good together! A perfect match if you ask me!"

Eren only scoffed. "You act as if they're a couple. And in what way would they even make a perfect match? Because Armin's a genius and Jean's two blades short of his 3DMG?"

At this point Bertolt stepped in and spoke up.

"Actually, you're right about them being polar opposites, but not in the way you think. I mean, they're both smart in a sense that they can see the next move in a fight, but Jean takes it on headfirst while Armin thinks about it to himself. Armin is silent and contemplating, whereas Jean speaks his mind freely and doesn't care about the consequences. They're basic sun and moon."

"What are you babbling on about?" The brunette asked in a gruff, unsure voice. He really didn't know if he wanted to hear this about the two considering everything he was feeling about it at the moment.

When Bertolt looked to Reiner unsurely, the blonde nodded his head and he took a breath.

"Think of it like this; without the moon and night we would only have the sun and the day. If that were the case, things would cook under the sun and we'd lose everything. Vice versa, say that we only had the night and no day, and we'd all freeze to death. If not, crops wouldn't grow and we'd all die eventually from lack of sunlight and natural warmth. So what I'm basically saying is that the two balance each other out. The same can be said about Armin and Jean.

"Jean is straightforward and logical. He doesn't care that the things he says may well hurt your feelings or that they might seem improbable. He gives his opinion and he lets others know what he's thinking. It's a useful trait to have, especially in battle. I mean, if he knew there was a chance we wouldn't survive, he'd let you know right away. It's just who he is. But on the other spectrum we have Armin who is usually calm under most circumstances, and he's a loyal soldier and friend. He's also incredibly smart and knows how to work through a plan with care and precision. The only thing is, he's quiet and unsure of himself. He won't speak his mind unless he truly believes his thoughts need to be heard.

"Together, the two could be something unstoppable."

Marco nodded at this. "A great Commander, and a greater Tactician. If you ask me, I think them working together is one of the more smarter ideas."

Eren only laughed at Marco's reply. "Jean a Commander? Count me out then."

"Got a problem with following my commands, cadet?" Came the familiar voice.

Both Jean and Armin exited the forest, packs filled with either wood or found berries, and both seemed to be smiling at something wholly unfamiliar to Eren himself.

Jean suddenly scoffed. "That's fine. I'm not looking to being a Commander anyway. I wouldn't want to deal with brats like you every time there was a graduation."

Armin hummed at this as he set his pack down by his tent. "I rather like the thought of you riding around on a horse and commanding children to die for you. I imagine the revolt of the people would be no sooner than your first year as leading officer."

The taller teen set his own pack down by their tent and nudged the blonde. "Of course, as my faithful tactician, I would assume you'd take the bullets for me."

Armin looked up into Jean's golden eyes and smiled. "Jean, if the revolt led to you being gunned down, and I was the only one there to save you before the trigger was pulled…

"…I would miss you very dearly."

"Ooh, ouch!" Reiner replied to this, pulling Armin into a side hug. "You are one feisty little blonde, Armin! Marry me!"

Armin pulled away from him. "Illegal here... for now."

"Fuck that, let's elope!"

Bertolt raised his hand joyfully. "I call the part of the best man!"

"Eloping means we'd run off and marry." Armin reminded him.

"I know," the tall brunette replied. "I'm hoping Reiner brings me along."

"Always, Bertl!"

Armin rolled his eyes but smiled anyway. "I'm touched you wish to marry me, but I've got someone else in mind for that roll… as you may well know."

The three teens looked at the blonde with guilty smiles while Eren stared in pure bewilderment.

"Armin!" The shorter brunette finally spurted out. "When did you meet someone!? Who is it!?"

"I'd rather not say, Eren. Just know that they mean a lot to me and I'll introduce you soon." Armin promised him before entering into his tent with his pack to sort through the berries he'd picked.

Jean rubbed his neck nervously. "Wow… didn't think he had it in him."

Marco crossed his arms with a sly smile. "Jealous your tactician found another commander?"

"Believe me, he's no commander." He said in a low, guttural voice before following the blonde into his tent.

Eren took a moment to process this before quickly running off to tell Mikasa about what he'd just learned. Leaving the three teens to question if Jean had actually said anything to Armin about his feelings.

When the teen came out once again, him having stripped off his shirt due to the heat, they asked if he'd said anything to Armin about his true feelings.

He merely grumbled. "Not yet… I chickened out at the last moment. I'm going to tell him though."

"Well if you don't soon, he's running off with me a Bert-y over here!" Reiner promised him.

Jean scoffed at this. "I'm pretty sure Armin can't handle two at once. Though you never know… he might surprise me yet."

"Would you be up for sharing?" Reiner joked.

Another scoff was his reply as he picked up his pack and headed over to the fire to help get it started.

Reiner grinned mischievously. "I'm not hearing a 'No'!"


Later That Night


"It's a no," Armin replied to the taller teen across the tent form him. "You can't share me with Reiner."

Jean only chuckled at this. "But he loves you so much!" He joked.

Armin only rolled his eyes be continuing to read his book. He had been as a good part before Jean interrupted him with the question of a three-way with Reiner. He blatantly turned him down, much to Jean's delight, but knew Reiner would be 'heartbroken' in the morning.

Jean looked back to his blonde companion and immediately felt a pang of inspiration and life hit him.

He got out his sketchbook and pencils and got to work immediately. With the light hitting Armin's face just right, and the soft glow of the lantern illuminating his fine features, Jean couldn't resist the urge to sketch out a quick draft of what was right in front of him. He knew he wouldn't remember the lighting if he'd waited until later so he had to start now. It was almost an impulse now to draw what he found the most fascinating. And at that moment, it'd been Armin. Him and the glow of loveliness around him. If only he could see what Jean saw.

Armin noticed the faint sound of pencil against paper and he glanced up to see Jean fiercely focussed on his page and what he was currently drawing, making the boy smile. He found it sweet that Jean considered him a muse of sorts, but was also a bit embarrassed to know he was being sketched in what was supposed to be a relaxing moment.

Jean knew right away when Armin noticed he was drawing him. The blonde tensed up and the scene became more posed than relaxed. It was no longer a moment, but rather a scene. Lifeless and poised, like a doll.

And Jean didn't want a doll.

He set down his pencil and paper to crawl over to the blonde before him and give him a peck on the cheek.

"You're lucky I'm a fast sketcher."

Armin knew right away what he meant blushed. "Sorry…"

The taller of the two pulled him into his lap and hummed, pressing his lips to the boy's neck.

"Don't apologise. You were a beautiful muse when you were relaxed."

A small, less than painful, smack to the side made Jean snicker slightly as he leaned back onto the bed-roll, bringing his blonde companion with him. Once the two were rested on the ground, Armin began to snuggle up into Jean's chest, making the taller hum in response.

"The best part about having our own tent; Yeager can't bug us or know about us."

Armin only scoffed. "Like Marco and the other two don't know what we're doing."

Jean chuckled before placing a chaste kiss on his lover's forehead. "But we're only cuddling."

"That doesn't stop their imaginations." The blonde replied in an almost annoyed voice.

"Well then, since we won't be able to convince them otherwise…" the taller teen spoke heatedly as he rolled them over so he was on top.

Armin giggled in response to this before feeling the teen's hasty kisses up and down his neck, tracing out his jawline every so often before going back onto his neck. When his lips reached his, Armin stopped his advances and reminded him that there were others in the camp and that they had no room to be loud.

Jean merely escaped the hand before showering the blonde in kisses once more. "Don't worry… I'll make sure to muffle our screams of pleasure."

Right as he was getting back into things, Armin pulled away once more.

"Not now, Jean." He said in a more serious voice, cheeks flushed from the heat of the moment. I… I-I'm just not ready."

The brunette understood him completely, however much it pained him to pull away, and put some distance between the two.

"Sorry… I didn't mean…"

Armin pulled him back into a hug and hummed in pleasure. "I didn't say you could leave my side. I just want to wait a bit longer until… you know…"

Jean nodded at this. "I understand."

It was only fair to Armin, of course. The boy had no idea of Jean's true feelings, and for all he knew this would end sooner than either of them hoped. What with Jean wanting to go into the Military Police, and Armin wanting to be part of the Survey Corps… it just wouldn't work out in the end anyway.

And that thought terrified Jean.

He loved Armin, he loved being close to someone for once in his life. Losing him because he wanted safety sounded like an excuse. And he didn't want that.

So then… what could he do?