"…see, this is why we shouldn't leave his side!"

Armin slowly opened his eyes upon the Eren's shouting. His vision was still a bit blurry as he stirred a bit, but he didn't want to take the energy to sit upright.

"Oi, Armin!" Eren shouted as the bed dipped, making Armin roll slightly. When he did, he let out a muffled groan as pain lanced through his body.

"Eren," Mikasa chastised, "Stop being so loud and get off the bed, you're hurting him."

The brunette did as he was told with a mumble.

"So you're awake," the nurse said, "that's good. I was afraid you were going to slip into a coma…"

"Can we speak to him privately?" Mikasa asked politely, "Please?"

The nurse nodded. "Of course," she replied, "he's already patched up; just don't jostle him too much. I'll be back in about twenty minutes to check up on him.

With that she left, and Mikasa's gaze fell on him. "Armin," she stated.

"What the hell happened!?" Eren exploded, "You—you've never acted like that before!"

Armin sat up slowly, every muscle in his body screaming at him to stop. "How long was I asleep?"

Eren opened his mouth t to answer, but Mikasa cut him off. "A day and a half. Cain is still unconscious."

When he heard that he cast his eyes to the floor. "…oh."

"'Oh'?" Eren asked, "Armin, almost killed someone and all you've got to say is 'oh'? You have to tell us what happened. Something really bad had to have happened for you to bash him over the head with a chair…"

"Eren," Mikasa chastised again, but Armin cut her off.

"He insulted my grandfather."

There was a long pause, and Eren's face slowly contorted in rage. "…what?"

Armin sighed. If it was the other way around (which it usually was) then he was sure this scene would play out in almost the exact same way. "He said that…that he'd be turning in his grave to see me die like he did, trying to fight the titans."

The chair Eren had sat down scooted back as he shot up. "That son of a bitch!" he shouted, taking the chair and lifting it to toss.

Luckily, Mikasa took it and set it back down. "Calm down Eren," she said, "Armin took care of it, remember."

She then turned to Armin. "Cain currently has a concussion, a broken nose and jaw, three broken ribs and possibly a punctured lung. He'll live, but he might not wake up ever again."

Armin averted his gaze. He did all of that? "…oh."

For some reason, he just could not bring himself to care. He tormented him for months, and the only logical explanation for his extreme reaction was the fact that he did it so long that when he went too far he just…snapped.

"Damn him to hell," he muttered, clenching his fists. "He deserved every cut and bruise I gave him."

Eren stared at him like he was crazy, and Mikasa blinked in surprise. Hell, even he was surprised at himself—he was usually level-headed and rational, the calm one of the three. Eren was the reckless one, and Mikasa would go anywhere Eren would go, making her just as reckless—if in a different way.

"Armin," Mikasa said gently, "it's in the past. The damage is done, so you should move on."

It took him a second to realize what he was hearing. It's usually him who tells either of them to calm down and move on, and it feels weird to for him to be on the receiving end—it was almost belittling to him.

This must be why Eren gets even angrier whenever I try to calm him down, Armin thought as he sighed.

"Sorry," he apologized, "The pain's just making me cranky. Just ignore me."

"No it's not," Eren growled, "You're right. The next time I see him—"

"—He'll still be in a hospital bed," Mikasa finished, "You won't do anything to someone who can't fight back."

Eren sighed, knowing she was right. "Yeah, yeah…" he muttered, "that doesn't mean he doesn't piss me off."

The door opened, and a blonde head peeked inside. "A…Armin?"

"C-Christa?" Armin asked, eye wide.

"Let's go Eren," Mikasa said as she dragged a kicking and screaming Eren out of the room.