[ A quiet sigh escapes through her nose, eyes trailing over her friend’s sleeping form. He’d been at it again, wearing himself out to the point of exhaustion and sleeping in the most uncomfortable-looking positions. ]
[ Cloak in hand, she noiselessly drapes her cape’s fabric over him, careful not to wake him. Dark eyes seemed to twinkle with the slightest hints of amusement as she gazed down at his sleeping face. A well-deserved rest… despite it not being the most comfortable. ]
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.
”See? Nothing to worry about.” He assured once again, nodding as if to solidify his own belief in the statement. He was worried too, but he was slowly learning how to hide that concern better than Mikasa. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing that she worried, but.. she sure was a firecracker when Eren was in danger. No one, not even Armin himself, could ever tell what she would do if something bad happened. It was understandable She and Eren had been through a lot together. “Would you like to go get some dinner to take your mind off things, or are you busy?”
Her lips were pursed as a low, quiet hum rose from her throat; a sound that acknowledged Armin’s reassurance. She knew better than to rely too much on her instincts and let it hinder her rational thinking. Impulsiveness will lead her to nothing but trouble. She’s already experienced that lesson first-hand… and yet…
"No, it’s fine…. I don’t really feel hungry.“ There was no need to dwell upon those thoughts now. And she saw no need to show anymore concern towards it in front of Armin… lest she makes him more worried than the concern he’d initially expressed. Oh. Speaking of concern–
”… Ah. Unless you’re going to have dinner now. I’ll come with.“
”No,” he breathed, “No, I’ve upset you.”
“I apologize.” A hand was reached out, fingertips brushing against the squad leader’s cheek before tapping her playfully on the nose. “I had not placed enough thought into how you might feel; I was worried Ms. Schnee was going to continue down a very sad path, if I had not offered her some sort of advice. I will refrain from using you as an example in the future.”
The faintest hints of amusement danced in her eyes at his actions, and the words that followed suit. It seemed that she might have carried out the gravity in her tone a little too seriously– if the commander’s words were of any indication to that.
“Armin, there’s no need for an apology. I haven’t asked for one.”
A voiceless chuckle escaped her lips. "So I see. Thoughtful as always– as expected of our Commander.“
A faint flush forms on those light cheeks and Armin tucks his head away in embarrassment. “Thank you,” he chimes sleepily, covering his mouth as a rather dramatic yawn escaped. When did these sleeping troubles begin, he wondered? Ah well, he’d gotten enough to get him through the day, and that was all that mattered. “Good morning.”
The small half-smile became a little more evident upon observing the other’s movements, along with his murmured thanks. A brief thought passed; if only Eren was here to see–…
"… Ah, Armin– Have you been sleeping well?“
“—Armin, your hair.””..i-is something wrong with it?”
A faint quirk of a corner of her lips, and wordlessly she reaches out to stroke his mussed bangs from his face, smoothly patting down stray locks that stuck out in sight. “…”
And she withdraws her hand, observing her work.
"… Good morning.“
”You don’t have to be angry with me. It isn’t like I gave away any deep, dark secrets of yours.”
“Besides, I see no harm in speaking of you in such a way, so it should be okay. I used you as a positive example for one of the young ones. She has to realize that it’s okay to be human here, despite any misconceptions she might have heard during her time in the Interior.”
“Of course– It’s not that I’m angry, Armin. Rather…”
She sighed quietly. Seemed like there was no use arguing about it– though she did wish he’d been a little more… understanding, to how she’d feel about having her past ‘moments’ shared with the younger soldiers so casually like that. “… I suppose I can’t really protest when you put it that way, now can I. But, really? Was it a given I’d be the said example here?”
”I only speak the truth, Mikasa. Take the compliment, won’t you?”
“I’m sure Eren would agree with me completely.”
“I still can’t say I’m comfortable with openly disclosing that sort of information, though.”
”As long as you’re okay with it.” He shrugged, “I think they all sound kind of silly.” But, then again, Eren did have the tendency to act rather silly. Armin thought is was cute.
”Eh — I didn’t think that was something bad to say?” Oops. “I mean, I love you too, ah.. We’ve known each other all our lives, I didn’t think it would be a weird thing to say..” But then again, he still wasn’t exactly family, adopted or otherwise. He was just the friend, which he was okay with, really. The fact that he possesses different types of love for Mikasa and Eren hadn’t occurred to him yet; for now, he’s stuck thinking they’re the same. “Should I not say it? He didn’t seem to mind.”
"It’s because they’re a little silly is why I like them.“ A lift of her eyebrow, and faint hints of amusement seem to dance in her eyes. ” ‘Scaren’, 'Hackerman’… They’re cute. Don’t you agree?“
And if she were to voice that the way Armin seemed to stumble a bit on his own words was sort of sweet, she was sure he’d dismiss her statement with denial. And so she kept that to herself. "I never said it was a bad thing, Armin. … Ah. I think Eren doesn’t mind at all,” she canceled out the use of the word 'seem’, “Because I’m sure he loves you too.”
A laugh bubbled up from Armin’s throat and the only thing he could do to keep from alerting anyone who may have been passing by the dining area was rest his head down on the table and force himself to be a little more quiet. How uncharacteristic it was of him to be so loud, but then again one must take into account how uncharacteristic it is also for Mikasa to act in such an adorable way. The idea that she might end up trying to hide the cat was something, Armin would admit, that would be interesting to watch.
”Miss Petra would probably want to keep him too, don’t you think?” He mused, folding his arms on the table top before resting his head on them, almost as if he were about to fall asleep. “Out of everyone, I think she would be the superior to go to if you intend to somehow keep the cat. She might be more lenient, and if she finds him half as adorable as I do there’s no way she’ll want to send him off into the woods, especially considering his lack of mother and siblings.” Armin doubted the poor thing would survive for long out there; something about the weight on this kitten didn’t look like it had been treated very well or fed often enough, which would explain why it loved Mikasa. “I bet you saved his life by feeding him, you know. He’s so thin.. At the very least, she might let you hide him until he gets some meat on his bones, then she might make you put him out..”
Her eyes trailed over the other’s form, curiously watching as he moved to lay his head over folded arms– amusement seemed to twinkle in his eyes, to her slight confusion; and at that she gave an inquiring glance, but withheld voicing out her inclination to know what was it that seemed to draw his interest. Nevertheless, she quietly hummed in agreement.
"Mn. Maybe– if it’s fine with her too, she could convince our other superiors to keep him… in case they disagree with pets in the headquarters.“ A faint little quirk of her lips surfaced from a corner of her mouth as the image of a pleading and starry-eyed Petra holding up the kitten to the rest of her squad played in her mind.
The slight half-smile soon faded, however, as Armin’s words rung through her thoughts, and her gaze settled back down on the furred creature licking itself contentedly. ”… Neither a mother nor siblings…“ Her eyebrows gently knitted themselves as she began to consider his words. This cat maybe have indeed suffered before– to lose a family, to feel alone… Perhaps, in a way, it wasn’t all too different from what she’d experienced for herself.
Her hand lifted to stroke the cat’s head once more, a small bittersweet smile soon replacing the frown she wore. "You’re right, Armin. It’s alright.” Ah. Yes. “… I think I might keep him. Maybe not for as long as I’d want, but… at least until he grows stronger.”
‘Like I have.’
”Scaren and Mikasa Hackerman.”
“Eren, I love you, but don’t you think Mikasa’s name is a little too much?”
It was Mikasa, though. Really, the name did suit her rather well.
"… I think they’re good names.“
The mutilation of flesh was among her top specialties, after all. At that, she gave a small, firm nod. "Hn. A very good one.”
Had he said too much? Ah— “I’m saying it’s not normal, yes..” he started, lips pursing in thought for a small moment. “But I don’t think it’s a bad thing. All humans are different and everyone has that one thing about them that other people don’t. You just, um, have a better ability to sense pheromones—”
“A-As for whether I sense it or not, I, um, can’t say I was aware of it before you mentioned anything.” A shrug, “And Eren.. he’s fine. He’s probably just busy doing chores again.”
"… I see.“ Well, not exactly. She understood what Armin was getting at– about uniqueness and differences in abilities, that is. What she didn’t quite understand was why Armin seemed a bit confounded by it– his reaction did make it seem a bit more unsettling than she initially thought… Though she deduced that it was nothing worth much concern.
Ignoring her gut instincts didn’t make them go away, however.
"You’re right. He should be fine… So long as he’s busying himself.”
”While humans do react to the pheromones in their general areas, it is generally unconscious and unnoticed by us. Something about how we are raised allowed us to disregard the basic desire to mate when we so choose to, unlike other animals. We do, of course, tend to place ourselves closer to the source of the pheromones when we come into contact with them, proving that despite our evolution process we are still subject to basic laws of life.” Ah. But he was rambling. “Anyway—”
“—I’m sure he’s fine, though. Things around here wouldn’t be so quiet if he was in any sort of trouble.”
"…“
A brief, curious glance to the palm of her hand, and silence ensued.
”… So you’re telling me that what I’m sensing isn’t… normal, is it.“ Dark eyes darted back to the other. "But, it’s there. It’s in the air. Armin, don’t you sense it?”
"… It's too quiet…“
