A/N: I'm so sorry I was so late uploading this. I know the day is almost over.

Jean awoke the next day to freezing morning air. Taking in the sharp wintry air of a Monday, he rubbed his eyes blearily. Instantly, he shoved his hands back under the covers. It wasn't just freezing, the cold was harshly biting and nipped at his fingers.

He turned his head towards the window on the other side of the room. His jaw fell open in despair. The wind was howling as snow crashed down in sheets. Jean groaned. He still had a few minutes left before he had to get up right?

Soon, the others began to stir, their own bleary-eyed sight of the raging storm eliciting shocked gasps. Jean pretended to stay asleep as he turned his back so that he faced the wall.

Hearing the last mad scampering of footsteps on the floor as they raced to the bathroom, Jean pulled the covers over his head and stretched underneath it. He reasoned he would have to brave the cold sooner or later and braced himself …

Later Jean wondered, as he cursed colourfully under his breath in the bathroom, (much to the admiration of impressed soldiers around him) if bracing oneself had ever successfully reduced the amount of impending pain.

A while later, Jean was in the cafeteria for breakfast. After getting his tray and sitting down at a table with Connie and Sasha, Jean immediately put his hands on the hot bowl of porridge. Its warmth was comforting.

Unwilling to dig in just yet, he instead distracted himself by allowing his gaze to meander the room. It seemed like he wasn't the only one feeling the cold. Most other soldiers were too, sitting glumly at their tables as they desperately attempted to warm themselves with their breakfast porridge.

There was however, one exception. His eyes landed on a petite figure with blond hair. Armin was sitting tables away with Eren and Mikasa and yet, he could see that he was practically glowing. Bundled up in a maroon scarf, Armin happily ate his breakfast as he chatted with his friends, cheeks flushed and smiling.

For a moment there, Jean thought he looked cute. Then he froze, and it wasn't because of the weather. Since when did Armin look cute? Armin shouldn't be looking cute, bundled up and smiling in that silly wool scarf.

As Jean considered the possibility that his prior cold may have damaged his brain permanently, he almost didn't notice Armin looking at him and half-raising a hesitant hand to shyly wave at him.

Feeling awkward, Jean managed a grin back though it probably looked more like he was having a seizure for Sasha and Connie began to look at him with some alarm.

Thankfully, an announcement suddenly made by Levi made it so that Jean didn't need to come up with a response. Striding in brazenly, with an air of what some may even call arrogance, Levi declared that in light of the blizzard outside, training had been cancelled and instead, everyone was under cleaning duty today.

Throwing scathing looks at just about everybody in the place, Levi assigned parts of the castle under each squad to clean and informed where soldiers can collect various cleaning equipment. Then, he left the cafeteria, but not before dragging Eren away. Mikasa and Armin stared dejectedly after him.

Jean finally tore his eyes away from the Golden Trio, well, Duo now, turning to his porridge. He pondered if he'll ever be able to understand how that feels. Sure, he's on friendly terms with everyone here but after what happened to … his best friend then, he just couldn't find the will or the energy to open up as much. Life became a lot bleaker.

Besides, he wasn't really interested in forming closer ties with the hyper, energetic idiots here; he was surprised to find there were so many of them in such a place. He wondered how Armin ever withstood Eren and if he had the patience to one day do it too.

Nah, he decided he wasn't ever going to be ready to become a martyr.

Smirking at his private joke, Jean returned his tray and reported to his Squad leader.

"You're early," Ness said.

One by one, the rest of his teammates arrived. Mikasa and Armin coming in last. It looked like they were discussing something with much fervour.

"Right! Uhh …" Ness waved his hand for attention. "Today, you guys will be cleaning the fourth floor corridors. That means all the dorm rooms and storage rooms. Yes, even the ones that have been and are still unused. Okay, now get to work, kids."

The squad grabbed pails, brooms, mops and various pieces of cloth before dispersing. Jean too, tied a white cloth around his head to act as a mask and went on his merry way.

After all, at least they didn't have to clean the shower rooms.

Armin was concerned. Deeply concerned. Not just for Eren, but for Mikasa too. She's gotten a little more … impatient these days.

Though, that impatience can be justified.

Eren had never been anything but a good friend and a loyal and passionate soldier. Yet, they are still running all these tests on him. Furthermore, Levi was keeping such a tight hold on Eren, they hardly get to see him these days.

Hence, Mikasa almost spoke out in anger and protest when Levi had commanded Eren to clean with him in the basement.

Sighing, Armin continued to sweep down the corridor. Mikasa had gone off to find Eren, leaving him alone. Not that he particularly minded. Being alone can be nice too. It was good enjoying some peace of mind. And, and …

Armin gripped his broom harder. He should stop dwelling on this and focus on the cleaning.

A while later, he realised he had gone quite a ways from where he'd started. The rest of the soldiers were still on the other end of the corridor or cleaning the rooms. He wondered if he should go back.

But then, he decided against it. Besides, he didn't really know or talked to anyone else besides Eren and Mikasa … and they were not around right now.

Furious at himself for missing them, Armin turned back to his sweeping. Finally, he reached the end of the corridor, and noticed not a wall, but a door staring at him.

It almost blended in since it was of the same colour as the grey stone walls. However, standing right in front of it, Armin could make out the faint outline of the frame and a wooden handle. It was covered in cobwebs and dust.

Brushing it off, Armin's curiosity got the better of him and he decided to take a look at what was inside.

To his surprise, the door wasn't locked, and save for a squeak on its rusty hinges, Armin slipped in quietly and easily. However, he also made sure to wedge his broom in between the door and the wall to prevent it from closing.

It was for practical reasons. Armin didn't imagine he would enjoy accidentally locking himself in or losing his sense of sight in a place with zero light.

Once inside, Armin felt a rising panic due to his slight claustrophobia and clamped down on it. The room was tiny and more rectangular than square. If Armin reached out both his arms to the side, he could touch the walls. After his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, looking around, he concluded he must have stumbled across a storage room. A multitude of queer and foreign objects on the shelves greeted him. They were all dusty or worn and looked like they haven't seen the light for decades.

He looked through them with a burning interest. Old journals and books, a wooden mug, parchment, a pile of shirts, buttons … They were all unrelated items. Armin decided to take the journals and books. It didn't seem like they belonged to anyone anymore, anyway.

The floor too, was covered in miscellaneous items. Armin had to tread carefully as some were broken. He saw a lantern near his left foot and picked it up cautiously. It wasn't broken. He decided it might be useful for him to light it.

Rummaging through the shelf on his right, he found matches and lit the lamp successfully. The room suddenly became a lot brighter and Armin could now see a stack of cardboard boxes lying at the end of the narrow room.

Slowly losing track of time, Armin headed towards them, set down the lamp and started exploring.

Jean shut the door to the room with some finality. It's only been 2 hours but he was already exhausted. Who knew an unused room could collect so much dust? He doesn't think it's been touched for years.

He might have trudged on to his third room if it weren't for him noticing the floor beneath him. It was shining, practically glowing even. Jean was impressed. Whoever had swept the floor had really done a good job.

Looking around however, he didn't see anyone carrying a broom and that's when he also realised he hadn't seen Mikasa or Armin in a long while. Were they searching for Eren?

He shrugged, it was none of his business anyway. Still, he decided to go down every room to check and see if they were inside cleaning. As he reached the end of the corridor, Jean paused to consider his options. Neither Mikasa nor Armin were in any of these rooms. So should he go look for them or stay put and wait for their return?

In end, Jean didn't have to make a decision as he spotted something peculiar at the adjacent wall that marked the end of the corridor. Upon closer inspection, he could make out a door with … a wooden stick blocking it from closing?

Suspicious, Jean opened the door slightly while taking up the stick, which he found to be a broom, silently. Cautiously, he entered and a fusty smell hit him. Whatever this room was, it reeked of old junk and dust. But, there was also a curious flickering light illuminating a silhouette of a person on the other end of this seemingly rectangular room.

"Hello?" he called out into the darkness.

The person shrieked sharply, causing Jean to jump and release the door. It shut behind him with an echoing bang.

"Armin?"

The boy raised a lantern to his face. Expressive blue eyes, now filled with trepidation stared at him from the other end of the room.

"Is … is that you, Jean?"

"You can't see me?"

"It's dark," Armin replied, getting off the dusty floor. He started towards Jean carefully.

Oh right, Jean thought. Armin had a light near him whereas Jean didn't, so only he could see him.

"Uhh … umm. Why are you in here?" Jean set the broom against the wall and met Armin halfway, taking care not to step on anything on the ground.

"I spotted the door to this storage room and decided to go in," Armin said cheerfully. "I found a lot of interesting things too! Like these journals and books!"

Jean peered at the books Armin was holding out. They looked like they were falling apart and out of date, but he decided to keep his opinions to himself.

"Where's Mikasa?" Jean inquired.

"Oh." Jean couldn't see properly but it looked like Armin's face had dropped. "She's looking for Eren. I hope they're okay."

He wasn't sure how he should respond. Should he comfort the other boy? Jean flashbacked to when he accused Mikasa and Eren of being bad friends. Armin certainly got angry. And since Jean wasn't hoping to risk his life in a dark room after angering the only other person in there who was also holding fire in a glass structure, he again, decided to keep mum.

"Why don't we get out and look for them?" Jean offered kindly.

Armin nodded and the two headed towards the door. Armin reached for the handle first but … couldn't find any.

"What's the holdup?" Jean frowned.

"Th-there's no handle …"

Unbelieving, Jean took the lamp from Armin. What do you mean there was no handle? He shone the lamp all around the door.

Dear lord, Jean's brain told him. There was no handle.

All he could do was stare, perplexed at the door. Then, he attempted to push it open but to no avail.

"I don't understand, it shouldn't have shut … my broom was -"

Jean grunted, kicking at the door.

"Oh my god -" Armin clamped a hand over his mouth as he spotted his broom leaning against the wall. "You removed it?"

"How else would it have shut then?" Jean bellowed as he slammed his shoulder against the door.

Armin jumped, but saw what Jean was doing and hurriedly grabbed onto him. "Stop it - Stop it!"

"Do you not want to get out?" Jean panted angrily.

Armin pulled him away with all his might. "Yes! But there's no point ramming your body into it and injuring yourself! The door is locked."

"Well, no shit, Sherlock! Why don't you be helpful and -"

Gritting his teeth, Armin slapped Jean across the face. The blow was ringing throughout the room and in Jean's ear.

"Shut up!" Armin snapped. Jean was silent. "You pulled the broom from the door, causing us to be trapped here. So don't yell at me."

"Besides," he continued, snatching the lantern from Jean and setting it down at the edge of the door. "The others are busy cleaning at the moment. They are unlikely to hear you flinging yourself repeatedly to death from the other end of the corridor."

Jean swallowed, raising a hand to his stinging cheek. Who knew Armin had such arm power? "So what should we do?"

"Sit here and wait. Sooner or later, they're going to report us missing and search for us. When it turns dark, they'll notice a light from the lantern I've put at the foot of this door and come for us."

Jean nodded slowly. That made sense. "Sorry," he said gruffly, ashamed at his panicked actions.

Now that Armin had also calmed down, he too, was a little embarrassed. "Don't worry about it," he told Jean. "And umm … sorry for slapping you."

"I needed that," Jean replied glumly. "Anyway, so we just wait?"

Armin pointed over to the cardboard boxes he had been looking through except that they were now shrouded in the darkness. "We can explore this room! I've found some interesting things in those boxes."

He began to make his perilous journey back to the boxes. Armin was well aware that without light, he could step on anything broken or sharp. His movements were slow and careful.

Jean decided to come along too. Not that he was interested in junk but he felt bad for yelling at Armin and wanted to make himself useful.

The two lifted a cardboard box each and made their way back to the light. Jean set down his box first and reached out both hands to take Armin's.

Suddenly, the other boy tripped and fell forward. Jean caught him easily since his arms were already outstretched. Armin raised his head shyly and thanked him before righting himself and moving away to put down the box.

Jean could have sworn he saw Armin blush.

He shook his head. That was probably the flickering fire from the lantern playing tricks on his eyes.

The two sat down and under the light of the lantern, and began to sift through the contents of the boxes.

"What are we looking for again?" Jean asked, shaking off a cobweb.

"Anything!" Armin said, delighted. He lifted out a bunch of envelopes. "Letters!"

"Dear Rey," he opened an envelope and began to read. "How are you doing? Mum says you have been regularly sending letters but I haven't gotten one from you yet! I do wish I could get a letter too. I've been a dutiful daughter and can now fold everyone's laundry in under five minutes! Fancy that!"

The two of them chuckled. Jean picked another envelope from the pile Armin had put on the ground. He opened it and started reading. "Dear Truda, it seems you are doing well. I hope you'll return home soon, however. Your father and I have missed you so. Not to mention, Grandpa is still asking if you are on vacation. He doesn't seem to remember you've gone and become a soldier."

It was like this that Jean and Armin passed the time. After reading several letters, Armin stopped abruptly in the middle of the sentence.

"What's wrong?" Jean asked.

Armin shook his head sadly. "The father revealed here that Grandma had passed away. It seems the tear stains have washed away most of the ink …"

Since Armin was sitting relatively close to him, Jean could see his expression reflecting sorrow. Although it wasn't his own family, Armin was still mournful. His compassion knows no bounds and oddly enough, Jean also felt something pull on his heart.

Armin closed his eyes and set down the letter. Then, he shifted his entire body so that he was sitting facing Jean. He now wore a stern expression.

"W-what?" Jean was surprised. Why was he suddenly so serious?

"When are you going to write to your family?"

Taken aback by the frankness of the question, Jean stammered a little. "S-soon …"

Armin sighed. "Why are you so afraid?"

"I'm not," Jean said defensively. "I just don't think they'll appreciate a letter anyway …"

"Not even during Christmas time?"

Jean decided to be as frank as Armin had been to him. "Look, I don't do Christmas, if that hasn't been obvious enough. I hate the cold, I hate the singing and I hate the whole festivity of it."

"But, why?" Armin searched Jean's eyes.

Jean avoided his gaze by looking away. Why would he want to know? Why was he so keen on finding out? And it's not like he could just tell Armin exactly why he hated Christmas either. It's just more of a lack of emotion towards it and irritation at those who get so fired up for it … like Armin. To Jean, Christmas was just like any ordinary day that people make too much of a fuss about.

But that … could be partially due to his childhood too …

He looked back at Armin who appeared genuinely concerned and interested to know. He was unmoving and sat in a kneeling position, hands clasped tightly on his lap as the light illuminated his blue eyes which still shone brightly. The room was suddenly so silent.

Damn it, Armin. Jean thought. Why do you have to be so persistent?

"I've just … never seen Christmas as a cause of celebration," Jean said finally. "My family was split up since I was very young and grew apart quickly. It was tiring to contact each other, let alone gather together for a party."

"Furthermore," he continued. "One time when I was encouraged by my mother to go carolling, since she wanted me out of what she called, a 'gloomy' house, I was booed and had gotten doors slammed in my face. No one celebrated Christmas where I lived.

So … that's why, I never did too. My mother was too busy anyway and it's not like we could afford the decorations or the gifts. Hence, here I am today …"

Jean tried a smile as he shrugged his shoulders. "… Unable to feel the Christmas cheer."

He didn't think it was possible but the room grew even more silent. Armin has stayed quiet for a while and now he looked like he was in deep thought seeing as his eyes were closed and frowning. Jean also noticed that the light was getting weaker and looked back to see that the flame burning in the lantern had gotten a lot smaller. How much time has passed?

"I've got it!" Armin said, clapping his hands together. Now his eyes were resolute and determined. "We're going to throw a Christmas party!"

"Sorry?" Jean wasn't sure if he heard correctly. Hadn't he just told him he doesn't do Christmas?

"You see," Armin explained, smiling cheerfully. "A proper Christmas party may help you experience some Christmas cheer for the first time! You've not felt the Christmas spirit because you've never celebrated it properly!"

Jean looked sceptical. "And how are we going to throw this … party?"

"I'm going to Commander Erwin to get his permission!"

Jean burst into laughter. "Armin, you make it sound so easy! Do you really think he'll agree?"

Armin puffed out his cheeks in protest. "I can convince him. Come on, trust me Jean!"

He was still laughing until Armin grabbed both his hands. Wrapping them around his own tinier ones, Armin leaned in. Jean's throat turned dry as his laughter died.

"Please, Jean?" Armin pleaded. "If I can convince Commander Erwin to throw this party, will you help me?"

Jean gulped. Armin's face was inches away from his. He couldn't help but notice his smooth skin and cool touch. For what seemed to be eternity, Jean didn't know what to say.

The flame was slowly dying as the flickering light on Armin's face dimmed. The candlewick was at its end. Jean could feel and smell Armin's breath. It was balmy, delicate and sweet.

"Please," Armin whispered.

Jean felt his lips moving on their own accord as he whispered back. "Alright, Armin."

Suddenly, there was a huge thumping on the door just as the flame died. Jumping, the two pulled apart and scrambled to their feet.

"Is anyone in there?" a voice called from the other side.

"We're here!" Armin exclaimed as he rushed over.

They heard the sound of a handle turning and then the door opened. It was Eren, Mikasa and Historia.

Armin dashed to Eren, hugging him tightly.

Mikasa held up a lantern. "Everyone was wondering where you'd gone."

Historia greeted Jean with another bright smile as he walked out of the room, brushing away the dust on his clothes. "I was so worried!"

Eren ruffled Armin's hair. "So it was your idea to put the lantern at the door, huh? Good one too. We would have never found you if we didn't see the light from it!"

Jean awkwardly thanked the three of them and walked away quickly.

"Is it just me or does Jean look more … vulnerable?" Eren asked in confusion, noting his softer tone of voice.

Armin laughed. "I think we're all just happy to get out and look forward to Christmas!"

A/N: Oh my shizzles. This chapter. I decided to challenge myself by writing most of it in Jean's POV since I've always done more of Armin's. I hoped it worked out fine. Besides that, we're halfway through the story! Can you believe it? O_o