Fic Summary: While most of his friends are fighting abroad, Armin finds himself trapped behind as it’s sole defense of the island. Between the new recruits not trusting him as a titan shifter and the lack of friends, Armin throws himself into his work until Jean snaps him out of his daze. Something about that cocky grin gets Armin’s heart racing and finally gets him to let his guard down to his longtime friend.
Pairing: Jean Kirschtein/ Armin Arlert
Part 1| Part 2| Part 3| Part 4| Part 5| Part 6| Part 7| End
A snore interrupted Armin’s attempts.
Armin pulled back to see Jean passed out underneath him, his journey finally catching up to him. Rather than grumble at his misfortune, Armin grinned.
“I guess I can finally say I had someone besides Eren in my bed now,” Armin brushed his knuckles along Jean’s scruffy cheek.
Burning the beautiful sight into his mind, Armin gently got up and stripped out of his uniform. He turned away from Jean, methodically removing the clothes in order to remain silent. Just as he removed his pants, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist and pull him back to the bed.
“Sorry,” Jean muttered into Armin’s shirt. “That was a nice striptease though.”
Armin was infinitely thankful he faced away from Jean, lest he see how crimson his cheeks were.
“It’s alright. You’ve had a long day,” Armin managed to not choke on his words.
Letting go of Armin, Jean stood up and walked in front of Armin. He blatantly did a once over of his friend and smirked. “Now that I can say this, you’re fucking gorgeous.”
Armin’s words wilted under the unexpected compliment.
“S-so are you,” Armin said.
Jean rubbed the back of his head, glancing at the door. “Well, I’m crashing. I’d like to continue this but I should rest up. We should get dinner or something sometime.”
When Jean started to move for the door, Armin’s hand shot forward and grabbed Jean’s wrist.
“Stay. For the night. Please,” Armin requested.
The sudden proposal broke through Jean’s confident façade. “U-uh… are you… I mean, yes. If you want!”
Jean’s fumbling of words got Armin giggling again. “Yes, I’d love that.”
While Armin retreated to his bed, he heard Jean stumbling around as he discarded his clothes. He laid underneath his sheets, watching as Jean stripped to his underwear and shirt. He wouldn’t tell Jean that he enjoyed the show. He didn’t have to explain the wide grin on his face when Jean joined him in bed. Armin rolled away from Jean, facing the wall.
“Sorry for the cramped bed, but they didn’t plan these for two,” Armin apologized.
Jean rested an arm over Armin’s chest and pressed his chest against Armin’s back. “No problem. I like to think of this as cozy. I could get used to this.”
Armin chuckled as sleep overtook him. “I’m sure you will.”
Armin slowly stirred from his dreamless slumber, almost jumping when he felt a pressure against his back. His fears subsided when memories of the previous evening flooded his head, causing a blush to return to his cheeks. He dared not move, instead choosing to nestle in the comfort of Jean’s warmth. While he could see that sunlight filled his room, he couldn’t accurately gauge the time. He hadn’t slept passed dawn in quite a long time. Any chance he had to savor the moment ended when his door flew open.
The sudden noise had Armin springing up in bed.
“Armin! Did you collect that report on the-” Hanji’s excited voice greeted him from the doorway. The commander was already three steps into the room before they stopped mid-sentence.
The look of shock on Armin’s face was only compounded by embarrassment he felt washing over his body.
“C-c-commander…” Armin greeted. He raised a shaky hand and pointed at the pile of papers on the table. “All- all but one page should be ready for review.”
A groggy yawn escaped Jean as he started to come to.
“I see. Thank you for your diligence,” Hanji cracked a wicked grin. The commander grabbed the stack of papers, momentarily noting the burnt piece on top of the stack. “We can go over these later once you’re in proper attire. I’m happy to see you’re bonding with your fellow soldiers once more. This at least explains why Captain Kirschtein wasn’t at training this morning.”
Upon hearing his name, Jean’s eyes snapped open. He practically jumped out of bed and offered a salute to Hanji. “Commander!”
Hanji stared at Jean, only briefly glancing downwards and chuckling.
“Very firm salutes, captain,” Hanji pointed to Jean’s crotch, who quickly covered his morning wood. “I’ll excuse your tardiness this morning but next time please don’t let your… personal affairs get in the way of work. I’ll see you two after lunch. Levi is going to love hearing why he had to train your squad this morning.”
“We’re sorry, it won’t happen again!” Armin apologized profusely, his face red from shame.
Hanji waved a hand in the air, turning to leave. “It’s alright Armin, you’re only human.”
Thanks everyone who read this on here over the last few months. I’ll be posting the full thing to AO3 soon and if people are interested in a hot and steamy sequel let me know bc I have a few ideas :D
As always, comments and messages are appreciated or just reblogs and comments in the tags. I read all of them!
