Sorry for the late update, doods. College got the better of me hahahahahuhuhu. Do enjoy this really short chapter.
"Eren, you should finish your meal first before arguing with Jean."
…
"Eren, stop fighting with Jean."
…
"Eren, your maneuver gear's not attached properly."
…
"Eren-"
"For fuck's sake, would you stop Mikasa? I'm not your son nor your little brother so quit acting like you're the boss of me!" Eren finally said, as he was about to skip dinner. On the other hand, Mikasa shoved bread in his mouth, making him involuntarily eat.
As the gang stared hopelessly at the two childhood friends, they even wondered if last night really did happen. They were back to their usual selves, with Mikasa acting like a doting parent and Eren being stubborn as a child. Armin could only sigh. There were no changes at all.
Near the doorway, Squad Leader Hanji and Corporal Levi stood, with Levi glaring at the two with his arms crossed as he leaned on the doorway. Hanji was looking as bored as ever.
"We gave those idiots a chance and here they are. So fucking romantic." Levi muttered.
"I guess that's just how they show their affection huh." Hanji said, her voice sounding a bit disappointed.
"That's none of our concern anymore." Levi said as he walked away from the dining hall. Hanji then followed.
"Are you guys sure those two just confessed to each other? 'Cause it seems like nothing happened at all." Sasha said.
"As frustrating as the two of them are, I guess that really is it." Armin said in dismay. He really did thought that something would change with these two. But knowing Mikasa and Eren, they're way too comfortable with each other. It's as if they've already passed the "can't-get-enough-of-each-other" stage when it comes to couples.
"At least they aren't as annoying as Franz and Hanna." Ymir muttered.
"Or you and Krista." Jean added, earning a glare from Ymir.
the_genius entered the chatroom
the _strongesthumanthereis entered the chatroom
the_commander entered the chatroom
the_sniffer entered the chatroom
the_strongesthumanthereis: Explain yourself, four-eyes.
the_strongesthumanthereis: What the fuck is with you when it comes to usernames.
the_genius: Whaaaaaaat? You asked for a cool username! There!
the_genius: I gave you the awesome-est one there is.
the_strongesthumanthereis: my username is a frikkin' sentence
the_genius: Actually, it isn't a sentence… yet.
the _strongesthumanthereis: That's it. I'm going to help you capture a freaking titan and kill it in front of you.
the_genius: WHAT WOULD BE THE PURPOSE OF CATCHING IT
the _strongesthumanthereis: To make you feel the disappointment, idiot.
the_commander: May I interfere with your love quarrel, corporal?
the_strongesthumanthereis: There's no 'love'. Only quarrel.
the _commander: Alright. Let's start the meeting then.
the_commander: We've upgraded the messenger. Thanks to the Garrison's support, we were able to come up with the budget for it.
the _sniffer: what's the new feature?
the_genius: you're gonna love it, Mike.
the_genius: it's perfect for expressionless humans like you!
the_genius: oh so it's perfect for Levi as well
the_commander: It's something called "emoticons"
the_commander: It's short for emotions and icons.
the _commander: Here's an example
the_commander: :)
the_strongesthumanthereis: A colon and a closing parenthesis?
the_commander: That means I'm smiling. The colon is the eyes whilst the parenthesis is the smile.
the_genius: Ooh! Ooh! I know the perfect emoticon for Levi!
the_genius: :(
the_genius: GET IT? The greater than symbol represents his always creased eyebrows :)
the_strongesthumanthereis: Wait 'til I get my hands on you, four-eyes.
the_strongesthumanthereis: No mercy.
the_genius: You know I'm just kidding Levi! Jeez you always take things seriously!
the_sniffer: I think some of the cadets already know some of the basic emoticons.
the_genius: That's true. Though there are new ones!
the_stongesthumanthereis: Such as?
the_genius: (^-^)v
the_genius: I'm doin' the peace sign. Adorable isn't it?
the_commander: (^_^)b
the_genius: OHHHHHHHH! That's a thumbs up riiiiight?
the_commander: Yes it is.
the_genius: I totally dig this new feature.
the_strongesthumanthereis: What is the new feature's contribution to humanity's survival?
the_genius: Nothing. It makes chatting more fun.
the_commander: Actually there is. It makes us send messages in shorter forms, thus making it easier to send them.
the_commander: If you're in a hurry, for example.
the_sniffer: you have an answer for everything, Erwin.
the_stongesthumanthereis: was that an "on-the-spot" answer?
the_commander: Well yes ;)
the_genius: You have my eternal respect, Erwin.
The trainees were jogging around the field as part of their afternoon training. Eren and Mikasa jogged side by side together, as if conversing. Armin glanced at his best friends, wondering what the two were talking about. Curious, he jogged a little bit faster until he finally caught up with the two.
"What's up guys?" the blond casually greeted. Both Eren and Mikasa glanced at him.
"The usual. Mikasa's being annoying by being all parental on me." Eren muttered as he glared at her. "She's already my… well, lover but she still acts like she's my freaking mom!"
"I'm only looking out for your welfare, Eren. I love you, and I don't like seeing you in poor shape and getting hurt." Mikasa casually said. Hearing the words "I love you" made Eren so flustered that he could only stare at Mikasa. This also made Armin blush, since he wasn't used to hearing words of affection from Mikasa. As they jogged in silence, Mikasa's face gradually became redder, realizing what she just said.
"D-did… did you… uh… huh." Eren stuttered, unable to say something intelligent. Mikasa adjusted her scarf and hid the bottom of her face shyly. After a few more moments of nothing buy sappy and cheesy silence, Eren spoke.
"I-I do… t-too, y'know. But I won't shove bread in your mouth just because you refused to eat." Eren muttered unusually softly. Mikasa's face became even redder.
"I'm… sorry, Eren." she muttered in response, still looking flushed.
'Ugh, just kiss, you two.' Armin thought as he gave his best friends a small smile. Slowly, he jogged slower partly, because he can't keep up with them and mostly because he was starting to feel like a third wheel. As he thought how things are working well for the two, he was a bit startled when he felt a presence beside him. It was Annie.
"A-ah, hey Annie." he stuttered casually. On the other hand, the blonde gave him a nod.
"You look deep in thought." she muttered.
"Well, I can't help it, you know. My two best friends are in love with each other. It's nice to see them that way." Armin said sincerely. Without saying anything, Annie could only nod her head. "I see."
"Do you feel that way for someone, Annie?"
Normally, Annie's conversations with Armin were about martial arts and training. Hearing what Armin just asked made her thoughts jumble as she stared at him blankly. In other words, she was totally caught off guard with his question.
"Uh… Annie? Are you o—"
"It's none of your business." Annie replied as she casted her head down, her pace increasing a bit. Armin was legit confused with her reaction. For him, everything he said had a default response coming from her. Seeing her shocked and speechless seemed out of character. "Uh… Annie-"
Annie's pace gradually increased as she waved good-bye. Armin continued to jog with his normal pace as he stared at Annie's petite figure getting smaller. He could only wonder what happened with her.
After their training, their squad leader dismissed them for a small break. Eren, Mikasa and Armin headed towards the cabins. As they approached their destination, Armin decided to leave the two alone. A bit surprised, Eren turned his head to face the blond.
"Armin? Anything wrong?" the brunet asked. Mikasa placed her attention on Armin as well as he gave them an assuring smile.
"Nothing's wrong, Eren. I just remembered that I had something to do." he replied. Eren gave him a mischievous smile, patting Armin on his shoulder lightly.
"Let me guess, more combat training with Annie?" he said jokingly, making Armin blush.
"N-no, I'm doing something else today. Annie's not feeling well."
Eren nodded, as if he wasn't convinced. Mikasa could only stare at the two as she patiently waited for Eren. "We'll see you later, Armin." she said.
Armin nodded and waved at his best friends before jogging away, making his way back to the camping grounds. Jean, Reiner, Connie and Berthold noticed him walking alone. The guys walked towards him with a quick greeting.
"Yo." Reiner said with a hand raised. Armin paused his walking as he waved back.
"Why aren't you with Eren and Mikasa?" Connie asked, making Jean snicker.
"Obviously, the two needed some 'alone time' together, if you know what I mean." Jean added with a smirk. Reiner laughed out loud, patting Berthold on his back while the latter could only shake his head in embarrassment. Connie tilted his head.
"Nah, I don't know what you mean." he nonchalantly said. Armin blushed upon hearing what Jean said as he waved his hands, as if denying something.
"Oh come on, Jean. I don't think they're at that stage yet." he replied awkwardly. This made Reiner and Jean laugh even more.
"Damn, Armin's innocent." Reiner muttered as he placed an arm around the small blond. "Just come with us, man. We're going in the forest and hike a bit. Y'know, have some guy talk."
"Whoa, I'm surprised you guys didn't want to chat." Armin mumbled.
"Not this afternoon. I heard the girls we're going on a hike as well. Apparently they're going to have some girl talk or something." Jean answered while Reiner agreed. Armin could only stare at the two in disbelief.
"So you're going to eavesdrop on them." he concluded blankly.
"Hell no. We're hiking." Connie answered.
Armin shook his head and decided to just go along whatever the guys were up to. After all, he has nothing better to do for the break. Might as well spend the time with his fellow cadets. As Armin agreed to join them, Reiner slapped his back lightly whilst Jean gave him a thumbs up. Inside Armin's mind, he hoped he wouldn't regret this.
Probably update... some time.