"Well it seems like you have quite a bit on your plate," Christa said, attempting to massage Armin's shoulders as he hunched over a vast pile of books in the library. "Maybe you should take a break."

"Can't," Armin muttered, "I have to figure this out."

He was in the process of figuring out a strange puzzle Hanji had suggested. It was math related, where you had to put any number from 0-9 in a square, but there are so many restrictions that his mind felt like it was going to implode.

"Armin, are you even listening?"

"Mm-hmm…"

Armin sighed. He couldn't put the nine there because there's already a nine in the same column…but that was the only number he hadn't used in that box!

"You aren't listening."

"Mm-hmm…"

The blonde boy furiously erased the square. He'll have to start from scratch.

But the more he looked at it, the more he realized those were the only possible answers…

Unless…Armin changed the three in the third square to a two and redid everything, succeeding in replacing the nine with the eight.

"Armin I'm pregnant."

"Finally!" Armin said as he threw the book down on the table. He had beaten the cursed game, and he felt very fulfilled.

Happiness turned to horror as he processed what she said.

Wait…they didn't even do it yet! Was she cheating? Or did she do it with someone else before they were dating? Was it Reiner's?! Or is it somehow his, like the myth of the virgin birth of Christ he read about in his book?

And when he had yelled finally, it sounded as if it was planned! What if someone else heard that!? He knew that he was going to be called into Erwin's office for a stern talking to, that's for sure…

"By your facial expression I can tell you're overreacting," Christa said, patting his shoulder, "I was kidding."

"…oh…" Armin let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Yeah, you definitely need a break," Christa said, laughing. "You're going to fry that brain of yours, and we still need it."

"Yeah…" Armin said, scratching his head, "what did you have in mind?"

"Well…" Christa tapped her chin and made an exaggerated 'hmm…' "How about a date?"

Armin's eyebrows shot up. "A…a what?"

Christa shrugged. "We've been dating for a day and a half, so we might as well…"

"Oh…okay then, where do you want to go?"

"Wait…you actually agreed?"

"Yeah, why not?" Armin asked, "I still owe you a first date, right?"

Christa's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Really? Thank you!" She said as she began to repeatedly kiss Armin's cheek.

"I'm your boyfriend. It's the least I can do."

.

"How do you feel about picnics?"

Christa looked up at him, confused. "I, uh…I don't mind them…but why? We just had dinner"

Suddenly, Armin picked her up bridal style.

"W-wha—? Armin what are you—!?"

"I'm taking you out on that date I promised!" Armin said happily as he carried her outside.

Christa raised an eyebrow at him, then shrugged. "O-Okay then…but for a picnic, don't you need food?"

"We just had dinner," Armin reminded her, "but I'll keep the picnic idea for future reference."

Smiling, Christa nodded. "Okay! So…where are you taking me?"

"A special place of mine," he replied vaguely. "It was a surprise, and I don't want to ruin it."

"It isn't your pants, is it? Because Cain tried that pickup line with me before and it was creepy."

Armin stopped and looked at her. "He what?"

"It was poorly executed too. The idiot kept stuttering the entire time."

That wasn't what he was worried about. "Um…no…it's not my pants…it's an actual location."

"Just making sure."

"Here we are!"

It was a small area behind the cottage with a koi pond and a wide variety of flowers growing around it. It had darkened by the time they arrived, but the light from the base and the full moon was sufficient enough for Armin to navigate his way to the edge of the pond and set Christa down beside it.

"It's…it's so pretty," she said, looking around in awe. "And you can see a lot of stars too!"

Armin smiled and settled down next to her, casually draping his arm around her waist and pulling her close. "I figured you'd like it."

Christa leaned into him and laid her head on his chest. "I do. It's so…peaceful."

They sat there for a while, craning their necks up at the night sky, pointing out constellations and the occasional butterfly or moth that would cross their path.

Then suddenly, Christa pushed Armin down to the ground.

"H-hey!" Armin said, laughing as Christa straddled him, "What are you—?"

He was interrupted by her lips. "Don't talk," she said, "and don't think either."

Deciding to follow her advice, he pulled her into him and kissed her deeply.

Without thinking, he flipped them over and began to leave a trail of kisses down her neck, murmuring her name. She responded with a moan, and Armin's stomach filled with butterflies.

Starting to feel a little bold, he began to unbutton her shirt while she unbuttoned his, their lips returning to each other. Armin threw his shirt somewhere to the left of him, moaning when Christa ran a hand down his spine.

"Armin…" she whispered.

He had successfully unbuttoned her shirt and began to take it off. "Christa…"

"We…should stop…" she said. However, she continued to run her fingers though his hair, down his back, and he couldn't think properly for the life of him.

"That doesn't mean we're going to," he replied back, smiling into the crook of her neck.

"G…good…" she moaned, and he leaned up and kissed her on the lips. He then began to kiss her neck, her collarbone, her—

"Oi! Armin!"

The boy leaped about five feet in the air. "S-shoot! U-uh…"

Christa put a hand on her face. "Are you serious?"

Armin hastily buttoned up Christa's shirt and got off her right when Cain rounded the corner, panting. "There you are!"

Startled, Armin clumsily fell off of Christa and onto the stony shore of the pond. He felt something stab him and he cried out in pain.

Christa looked at him, eyes wide. "Did you just—?!"

"Yep," he muttered, "I just did…"

"Man you'll never believe—what happened to you runt?"

Sighing, Armin tossed the rock he fell on out of sight. "I fell on one of the rocks. Christa was just looking to see if it was bad, but I'm going to the infirmary."

"Where?" he asked, "I don't see any—oh…"

Armin looked down at the cut. It wasn't big, but it was deep and bleeding profusely. He looked away and hissed in pain.

"Just wait," Cain said, "I had just—"

"I'm not in the mood for your mindless gossip," Armin muttered, standing up and wincing as his injury stung. "I need to get medical attention before I pass out from blood loss."

"Oh come on it'll only take a second! So anyway, Mikasa—"

Christa stood up and put a hand on Armin's shoulder. "C'mon, or else it'll get infected."

Cain made a face. "Who are you, his mom? Screw off."

Christa flinched and withdrew her hand. "I'm concerned for his health—"

"-Like an overprotective mom," Cain retorted, "His mom's dead, isn't she? Just go away and play with your lesbian friend you're always with or something."

Armin felt his patience die instantly—he would have smacked him right then if he had the energy. Instead, he settled with a menacing glare. "You're right, I don't want her here. I want her in the infirmary, next to my bed while I'm getting stitches. Now, if you'll excuse us—"

"I'll take you so you can listen to me talk," Cain persisted, waving away Christa. "Now shoo. No one wants you here."

Christa looked down, but then looked back up, defiant. "No."

Cain rolled his eyes. "You're so damn annoying—!"

Then, without warning, he shoved Christa backwards, making her fall into the pond with a cry.

"Much be—"

Before, he would have just run over to Christa and helped her up, and Cain probably would have smirked and swaggered off. He refused to allow that.

So instead, he hit him.

It wasn't a slap either—it was a full uppercut to the jaw. It made a small crack, and Cain stumbled back.

"You can antagonize me all you want, but don't you dare lay a finger on Christa."

He flinched but waved a dismissive hand. "Whatever. I don't wanna talk to you anyway."

Ignoring the pain in his side and the pride of finally standing up to Cain, Armin took a deep breath and turned to Christa, who had climbed out of the water soaking wet. Picking up his discarded shirt, he walked over to her and began to unbutton her shirt.

"Not now," she muttered, "I'm in a bad mood, you're injured, and Cain is still over there."

"It's not sexual," he stated bluntly, "I'm giving you my dry shirt to put on."

Nodding, she took of her soaked shirt and held out her hand for his. "Thank…you…?"

Armin froze completely. Earlier when they were kissing, he hadn't gotten a good look at her breasts. However, with only a bra on-

Stopping that train of thought right there, he handed her the shirt. "Sorry," he said, laughing nervously and scratching his cheek with his forefinger. "It's just…"

Christa laughed. "I'm shirtless and you're shirtless?"

"…Yeah…that…"

They leaned in, but Christa thought better of it and stood up. She must have seen his disappointment, because she rolled her eyes. "Armin, you're still injured. We can roll around later when you're physically able."

Armin laughed-but winced again when he stood. "Y-yeah…"

Christa smiled. "Yeah."