A smile brighter than the sun spread across Armin’s lips, face lighting up to match. Why Mikasa’s words made him so happy, he wasn’t sure, but they did. He could think about all of that later, he supposed, but for now he would assume the happiness he felt was due to nothing more than that strange sort of family bond the three of them shared. It made enough sense to him.
”Do you know when he’s going to be done with his chores?” He asked, head lolling to the side curiously. Their superiors liked to keep Eren busy, which was understandable enough, even if Armin did feel a little upset about it form time to time. His and Mikasa’s time with him had been cut into very short intervals during meals and right before curfew. It was sad. “I wanted to show him this thing I read in one of my books earlier..”
It was hard not to smile back upon seeing such an animated expression on his face; Armin’s smile was infectious indeed. A corner of her mouth tugged itself upwards, and a faint half-smile surfaced from her features. It seemed that her words had lifted his spirits somehow, and for that she felt glad. After all, what with all the things they’ve been through together, he deserved to feel free to smile as genuinely as he wanted to.
"Ah… He still has cleaning duties left to take care of, if I recall right.“ Though she would not let that fact dampen his mood. And besides, though she tried not to let it show, she was just as eager to see her adoptive brother as Armin was, if not more. Their time together felt far too short to be appeasing, in her opinion. "But by now, he might be at the stables. We could stop by to check on him if you’d like.” So long as none of their superiors caught any of them in the act.