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Leave it to Jean to be the one who found out that Armin was ticklish. It was something he had always been successful at hiding (except from Mikasa and Eren, but considering the severe lack of secrets between the three of them, that was no surprise), and he could only hope that Jean wouldn't lord the fact over him. Armin didn't need anyone else knowing - he practically shivered in horror at the idea of Reiner finding out. That guy's big brother vibes were appreciated sometimes, especially when training got hard and Armin found comfort in his attitude, but that whole thing also made Armin feel like Reiner would definitely take advantage of such knowledge. Fortunately, Jean didn't tickle him for long, and it was with gasping breaths that Armin had to recover from the treatment. His cheeks were flushed and his stomach already ached with laughter, but at leat that whole attack hadn't lasted very long.
Armin set the fork that he'd been holding down (Jean better thank his luck stars that Armin wasn't the type to stab first and ask questions later) and took a sip from his water container, soothing his throat after the shrieking that he'd just done. He glanced to Jean as he did so, replacing the top and raising his eyebrows as Jean said that he'd only picked to come up to Armin because he was bored, and Armin was nearby. That made sense, of course; Armin could only imagine the sort of annoyance that Jean was having with the entire resting situation, because despite his laid-back attitude, and his tendency to be lazy when he could, he wasn't outright lazy. Maybe a little. But now lazy without anything to occupy himself, really.
Now that the coast was clear, Armin picked up his silverware again and took a bite of the lukewarm food. It tasted delicious, but then again, Armin was also starving. He was ridiculously hungry, actually; if he hadn't been, he would've tried to be more polite than to eat in front of Jean like this... But, well, he had a right to eat, and it wasn't like there was anything for Jean to eat anyways (because Armin was not sharing any of this precious, Mikasa-procured meal). He had to swallow, though, when Jean asked him what he was doing in here. Reaching for the cloth napkin tucked by the tray, he wiped at his mouth and then responded.
"I was staying with Hanji because she was sharing some information on formations and we were discussing some tactical things, but she wouldn't let me go - so I didn't get to eat this morning, or this afternoon. She came to talk to me before the sun was even up, and when I went to training, the Corporal took one look at me and told me to go eat, take a break, and come back when I didn't look like the walking dead." Armin confessed, looking a little bit sheepish. He really should be able to handle an early morning and a lack of food for just a day, but then again... He wasn't going to protest a break. If only he could sneak in a short nap, too.
"Why are you hanging around the mess hall, of all places?" He asked, curiosity piqued.
