Much like Armin over the past few weeks, Jean's mornings began with his every waking thought consumed by his friend's magick, the wish, and the orb.

After an adequate night's sleep, and a few waking hours to mull the offer over, Jean had the chance to compile some questions and concerns…and express confusion over what Armin didn't clarify the night before.

Among them, his confusion regarding the unexplained details from Armin's previous conversation lingered, begging for resolution. He didn't want to flirt with the possibility that some things couldn't be explained. The reason was, deep down, he harboured some doubts and uncertainty about trusting Armin's stories. Armin wasn't one to play tricks on his friends. Eren, and especially Mikasa didn't seem like the type, either. How quickly everything came to fruition left Jean feeling uneasy. Eren inspired the 'magick talk' in the first place. Those three clearly had to have a lore basis built up ready to recite.

But then again, what sort of technology could create a perfect sphere of light? Completely from thin air? And multiple times, too? Armin was a good liar, sure, but his abilities had their limits...probably. Would he be able to tell if his friend lied? No, Jean decided, he needed to stop being so suspicious. There were things in the world even the smartest people couldn't comprehend. Hell, Armin himself would admit that his magick evaded the grasp of his own mind, like a puzzle with missing pieces, and he was the smartest guy Jean knew.

The confirmation he so desperately needed was found in Armin's eyes the next morning. A quick glance of acknowledgement should have come and gone. But Jean couldn't tear away his gaze. And, as though Jean's own eyes perfectly conveyed the desperate need for confirmation that last night's conversation wasn't some weird dream, or vivid hallucination, or prank, Armin's eyes locked onto his, too. Despite the shame of being caught staring, Jean immediately intuited a subtle specialness within Armin's smile. Like Armin had been relieved of a secret he held for so long...and Jean knew in that instant that it wasn't a dream. It wasn't a joke. It wasn't some elaborate prank to expose his gullibility.

He let the memory marinate for a few days, festering within him until it started infecting his thoughts in a consistent fashion. Suddenly, a week passed by. He never found the opportunity to have a private conversation about everything that was on his mind. There was nobody else he could talk to about their shared knowledge, but Jean really had nothing to say other than a bombardment of questions, or even just uttering, 'how the fuck is this possible for you!?'.

Even though they were part of the same social circle, it would be borderline strange for Jean to explicitly ask Armin to separate from the rest of the group to talk alone. Rumours spread like wildfire among the teenage cohort; Jean could only imagine what people would speculate after seeing them 'sneak out' or 'hide' behind the dorm rooms!

A conversation should happen sooner rather than later. There was a wish - Jean's wish - sitting ungranted and unfulfilled, after all! The revelation itself was exhilarating in its own right. He spotted Armin mid-stride in the classroom at his desk towards the back of the class - Armin's assigned seat. Oh yeah, they had a theory class together! Perfect! Hopefully, he'd be able to get him alone.

Armin seemed preoccupied with a book, or revising pre-reading, so he didn't see him. Jean sat at the desk near the front-middle of the classroom. Considering they were basically half an alphabet apart, they couldn't sit together even if Jean took the initiative. He decided he would take advantage of the lull before their next class to open up about all the thoughts swirling around inside of his head. Opening a discussion where other students were likely to hear wasn't the best idea, too.

The moment class ended and the teacher had departed, Jean sprang up from his desk. They had ten minutes before the next class commenced. Most of the students near Armin's desk had either left the classroom or congregated with friends elsewhere. Jean zeroed in on Armin before anybody else had the chance, whether it was to discuss homework or friendly small talk. "Hey there. Got some free time?"

As swift as his entrance, Jean claimed an empty chair from the desk next to Armin's, settling down before he could even reply. Armin smiled; Jean probably wouldn't have taken 'no' for an answer. "I do. How are you?"

"Fine." The night Armin last interacted with him one-on-one, he left seeming overwhelmed. Today, he was composed - back to his usual self. While Jean wasn't blatantly avoiding him, some long time to process what he experienced seemed to return him to normalcy. For that, Armin was grateful. He'd hate for nothing to come from exposing this part of himself! "I wanted to talk a little more about the thing you told me about last night."

Armin sat up a little straighter at Jean's emphasis. He certainly expected Jean to bring up last night, but not less than twenty-four hours after their discussion! Jean looked a little more refreshed compared to the night before and just as troubled as when he left. "Ah, sure - if you'd like. I don't think anyone's paying attention, so you don't need to disguise your words or anything. You haven't been thinking about it since we talked, have you?" Hopefully Jean still paid attention in class! The few times Armin glanced over at him, he seemed focused on the lecture and writing diligent notes just as he usually did.

"Well, yeah! Of course I did!" With wide eyes, Jean appeared incredulous, his gestures wild and slightly manic. Luckily, his voice still remained at an appropriate level, perhaps a little hushed to conceal their conversation. "What else could I think about besides the fact that you had a wish - a single wish to only give to one person in your life - and you chose to give it to me? I mean, why'd you never give it to Yaeger? Or Mikasa? Giving it to your closest friend seems like the most logical course of action!"

"I can't answer that, to be honest. Something told me it wasn't right to give the wish to them or to even show them." That being said, what would his best friends wish for, anyway? Armin had a hunch that Eren would reject the wish. No matter how appealing the idea of eradicating all the Titans sounded, that was a goal Eren was determined to achieve himself. As for Mikasa...Armin couldn't say. She may wish for something that benefited Eren, insist Armin give her wish to Eren, or for Armin to keep it for himself. It was difficult to imagine his friends

His frown intensified with every word out of Armin's mouth. Jean clearly believed him, however, so his expressions didn't bother Armin. "You've mentioned 'something' a few times. What is it?" He asked.

"Some random, otherworldly force, I suppose. My mom always said that I'd know when it was the right time to grant someone a wish, and that's the force that, I'm guessing, guided me," he attempted to explain as best as he could.

Unfortunately, another unanswered question intensified Jean's confusion. "Guided you…to me?"

"Yeah."

"…why me?"

"I don't know."

Jean crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You do know, but you don't want to tell me. You're acting elusive on purpose."

His cheeks reddened. Digging into the reason why this wish would be Jean's would lead them nowhere productive. His mother's vagueness wasn't his fault! Hell, it probably wasn't her fault, either! All he knew was that Jean seemed to be 'important and special' enough to him to be awarded his wish - just as his mother had predicted. That, however, is something Armin would keep deep within himself, never to emerge. "I don't mean to come across that way. I had a single twenty minute conversation with my mother about this before she died - I'm repeating everything she told me. I assumed I'd give my wish to someone I would marry in the future, just like my mother. I really don't know why it's you. But it just feels right!"

Such a comment surprised Jean. Seeing as Armin was becoming flustered, Jean assumed his lack of understanding was genuine or there was something deeper he'd prefer to not uncover. "Okay…it doesn't make that much sense still, but if you're insisting it feels right, then I'll accept it," he finally backed off.

"I promise that's all there is. I know as much as I'm telling you." He knew Jean wasn't going to dig deeper. Thankfully...

Sufficiently placated, Jean leaned a little closer. "Are you disappointed at all? That it's me?"

"Not in the slightest. I'm happy to give it to you," came his truthful assurance. "Do you hate that you have it?"

"No way. If anything, I'm sort of smug that I know something about you that Yaeger doesn't, even if it's the 'other worldly forces'," he wiggled his fingers mysteriously, making the blonde smile, "forcing you to keep it from him."

A silence settled over them, yet, something felt unresolved. The next instructor was due to come into class any minute. All their classmates gradually returned to their seats. He hadn't slowly begun to pull back with the intention of doing the same, which made Armin think that Jean hadn't gotten everything off his chest. Still remaining close, elbows almost touching, the blonde became curious. What else did Jean have to say to him?

Hoping his hunch was accurate, Armin offered the question, "…have you thought about what you want to wish for? That's why you're bringing it up again, right?"

Crap! His intentions had been uncovered! All Jean could do was try and compose himself. He blinked before putting his hands up and stumbling over his rapid words. "I-I couldn't help but think about it and wanted to know more. I don't have anything concrete in mind. But I would be lying if I said I wasn't interested…"

"No need to be coy. If you want it, it's yours." Armin wasn't sure why Jean looked at him with wary eyes. Or why he would attempt to justify himself or his intentions. Such hesitance was foreign to Jean, a guy who'd never ever hold himself back from getting what he wanted. Ah...did the idea of telling Armin what his wish would be make him anxious? Unfortunately for Jean, Armin was a much better reader of emotions compared to him! "You don't have to tell me what it is at this point. I told you last night that I can show people their wishes before they're granted. Maybe I can show you what would happen if I granted your wish?"

He did say that! Honestly, Jean was way too busy admiring his orb to pay any attention to his words. "You can? Really?" It appeared that Armin's words hit their mark as Jean's tension seemed to ease up a bit. Jean regained his resolute nature. "Testing it out to see what would happen would be cool."

Considering Armin had never had the chance to put his magick into action, he couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation at the offer. He felt his heart race, pumping adrenaline through his body. "Great. Do you need more time to think about it?"

"...are you sure there's no rules?

Not wanting to raise further questions or curiosity within Jean, Armin chose his words carefully. "I suppose...no, there's no rules, as long as the outcome isn't something that would bring bad karma on either of us."

"Karma?" The weight of these new terms thrown at him gave him whiplash, making Jean like he needed a dictionary as collateral force.

"A consequential force that takes any action you perform presently which dictates outcomes in your life," he defined. "For example, if you do something good, you're more likely to have good things happen to you. But if you do something bad, you might have bad things happen to you. If I grant a wish for you that causes harm to others, then we might get bad karma."

"Armin," Jean leaned forward further, elbows resting on the desk, unimpressed, "you don't really believe that shit, do you?"

The question was met with a cocked eyebrow. "You just found out I have a single wish to grant to anybody of my choosing. You've seen the orb I can create with magick. Do you have any reason to disbelieve anything that I'm saying?"

"Good point."

"So...do you need more time to think?" Armin repeated. This time, Jean looked more assured, and determined, so the blonde allowed himself to become pre-emptively excited!

"Nope. I'm convinced. If you're cool with it, let's do it today - I can see you're pretty pumped for this, too." The smiles they shared were laced with an excitement nobody else would ever be able to feel apart from them. Jean's decision came just in time, too, as their teacher entered the classroom to prepare for their next lesson. "Meet me behind the dorms during lunch."

Armin gave a firm nod. "Sounds like a plan!"

Patiently waiting behind the dorms as they promised to meet, perhaps a little early, Jean leaned back against the rough wooden wall as he watched the clouds float across the sky. The choice to speak to Armin left him feeling at ease. Truthfully, Jean wasn't even sure if he wanted to see the outcome of his wish but really, he'd be a fool to pass up such a one-of-a-kind opportunity, particularly with Armin's bullshit about some 'magickal force' telling him now was the time to grant a wish.

Everything felt real now, too. Remembering how Armin practically jittered with excitement in front of him made it hard to believe that he'd fake something like this for so long. It would've been an intricate plan, too. The more likely explanation is one that Jean (reluctantly) believed from the start; his friend was somehow born with magick and that wish of his somehow belonged to Jean. He seemed enticed with seeing the effects of his magick through Jean. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Armin, after all.

He had one possibility that immediately jumped to the front of his mind the instant Armin confirmed he was the one who would be getting the wish. Armin's morality, coupled with his new-found discovery of karma, left Jean concerned. How immoral would it be to wish for-

"-sorry!" Armin's appearance and hasty apology plucked him from his thoughts. Flushed pink and breathless, Armin steadied himself by holding the corner of the building - seemed like the guy ran here! "I didn't forget, I swear!"

"It's cool. We've still got time, right?"

"Yeah, but we shouldn't waste it."

"How long do you think it'll take?"

"Since it's only projecting an outcome, probably only a few minutes. But, just in case, we should do it quickly."

Was he scared of getting caught? Or, Jean suddenly discerned, did his friends have something to do with the rush? "What did you tell them?" Jean took a stab in the dark.

"Eren and Mikasa? That I had to run an errand here for one of our squad leaders. But they're waiting in front of the dorms," forming a fist, he pointed a thumb over his shoulder towards the side of the building, "so I can't be too long."

"Hm, clingy."

"We should get away from the windows. Maybe further towards the middle of the building." He led the way, walking past Jean, who pushed himself off the wall and followed. Like water off a duck's back, the comment didn't bother Armin. They never did; the ones that slipped from Jean's capricious mind were never as harsh as the ones Eren received. Today, however, his nonchalance seemed to be caused by being distracted.

Armin's earlier words and explanations seemed dispassionate as though he were reciting words his mother had ingrained to him as a child. But, the spring in Armin's step, the broad grin on his face as they settled on the ground in front of each other, and his jittery hands in his lap told Jean he felt a lot more deeply about this than he assumed. This wish was almost what Armin was born to do - something that set him apart from everyone else! So, it was no wonder he was bursting with excitement!

He hadn't seen him radiate such passion with anything else other than a book...

Sitting a little straighter, Armin prepared himself. "Are you ready? You don't need more time?"

"Just tell me what to do," his willing reply came, completely at Armin's mercy.

Gradually, within the space of mere seconds, Armin's excitement tapered and the smile slipped off his face. Shit, what was that expression for? Despite being the one with the magick, and despite his fairly knowledgeable presence during their few discussions, Jean now figured that Armin knew less than he'd let on. His information seemed to be parroted from his mother's brief lecture, just as everything about his magick had.

Armin felt his smile drop; suddenly, he realised he had no idea what to do! The only thing he could think of was to summon the orb in his palms. Jean wore a similar, yet muted, expression of wonder as he gazed at the glowing orb for the second time ever! It would probably never not be damn cool! Despite looking less magnificent in the midday sun, it still looked pretty damn cool! Armin secretly hoped he'd always react with such amazement towards him.

"I...just realised I have no idea what to do," he admitted with a chagrined smile.

Jean refrained from rolling his eyes. Jesus, that woman might as well have kept her secret to herself, seeing as she was incredibly unhelpful to Armin! "Your mom didn't tell you how to actually grant the wish or show people their wish?"

"She told me how to grant it, but not how to show it." The last thing a bewitched ten year old would be thinking about is the future, so Armin couldn't fault his younger self for not inquiring about everything he could. "Try and think of the wish in your mind, maybe? Then tell me what you see?"

They remained silent for a few seconds before Jean wrinkled his nose. "Nothing's happening." The disappointment in Jean's voice surprised Armin - he hadn't expected Jean to be enthusiastic!

"Oh…okay. Keep thinking of it in your mind. Um...block out all distractions everywhere, and close your eyes." As instructed, his eyes closed, his posture relaxed - shoulders falling to a natural position, subtly relaxing his spine, and allowing his head to tilt forwards. Detecting no change of expression on Jean's face, Armin leaned forward anxiously. "Is anything happening? Do you feel anything?"

He opened his eyes. "Nothing except for your intense staring."

"Be serious," Armin sighed.

"I am!" Jean's frown deepened. "I want this to work, too."

"Maybe…it's not enough to just be in the presence of magick. Here; hold my hands. Maybe we have to be connected," he gestured to Jean with his palms facing up to the roof, waiting with flexed fingers and open palms.

"Heh, why'd you say it like that," he acquiesced with a quiet snicker, a hint of a smile lingering as Armin shushed him. The instant his fingers brushed Armin's skin, Jean immediately noticed how hot they were. Not sweaty, not overly dry, or cracked; just hot. He had no baseline to compare it to, never actually feeling the temperature of the blonde's hands, but it seemed unnatural. Jean recalled the radiating heat of the orb the night before. While the orb hadn't been as hot as Armin's hands were, the possibility of magick emitting its energy through heat was a thought that ran through Jean's mind. Despite the burn, the sensation didn't bother Jean, and it didn't seem to bother Armin. His cheeks gained a little more colour as they held hands. Was the residual warmth from the orb affecting him, too?

Once holding hands, Armin wriggled into a straighter, more rigid position. "Alright…okay, just relax."

"…you, too. Maybe your tenseness and high expectations are scaring the 'magickal forces' away." Jean's sarcasm made Armin roll his eyes under his eyelids, but marvellously, his words were enough to relax him.

Armin summoned the orb once more and to his surprise, it appeared to hover over both of their clasped hands. The instant it did, however, a significant shift of energy filled the space. Despite their being outside, the energy had nowhere to go except to surround them. It felt welcoming, and safe, like nobody would be able to disturb or harm them if caught. The sensation made Armin nostalgic, bringing him back to the moment his mother projected her magickal energy through his body to summon his orb for the first time. This time, Armin's energy flowed through him to the brunette in front of him. By his perturbed expression and the subtle loosening of his grip, Jean felt the shift in energy, too. Conflicted, perhaps Jean tossed up between pulling away or remaining, and found his curiosity too adventurous and chose to remain until the end.

He already knew how Jean felt before asking the question, like they were linked on a psychic level. "You feel different, right?"

"Yeah…" Jean gazed around the room as though he expected to visually see the difference in sensations.

"How does it feel for you?" The desperation in his voice was evident. He wanted to hear an explanation from a nonmagickal person, hoping that perhaps he could explain his feelings in borrowed words for future experiences.

"The air suddenly went warm, and it's slightly thick. I can feel it almost burning on my skin. When you grabbed my hands earlier, I noticed they were way hotter than human hands should be, and I assumed that was because of the heat the orb provided. But...I guess that's just how magick feels." Even now, the hottest part of his body continued to be his hands. Jean could focus on nothing else, hyperaware of Armin's energy flowing into his body.

"Is it uncomfortable?"

"Kind of…not uncomfortable enough to stop, though."

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely. We've gotten this far, so let's see what happens. You seem more sure now," he intuited, and fairly correctly. "Tell me what to do."

Armin nodded firmly. He'd never felt more sure of anything in his life, like linking their hands to transfer his magickal energy created pathways in his head to create (and confirm) the instructions he recited earlier. "Close your eyes, and concentrate on the energy. It should be easier now since you can feel it. Then, think of the wish in your mind," he recited clearly and confidently.

Thoughts flowed more smoothly now than they had just moments before. Perhaps giving Jean a physical sensation to grasp allowed him to make sense of the situation. He felt hopeful, funnily enough, and he hadn't felt that way in quite a while. It was a nice feeling, sweetened by the fact he was sharing this with Armin. Giving Armin's hands one last squeeze, Jean drew in a deep breath, closed his eyes, and conjured up the wish in his mind…