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Winters were a period of relaxation for most soldiers. Going outside the walls to fight Titans would be effectively sending them to their deaths- moreso than usual- so as it happened the coldest months were spent inside the walls on a rest period while most of the paperwork was finished and sent.
The cold was not as bad for some as for others. For instance, a boy named Eren Jaeger did not seem to feel it at all, his body heat melting any snow around him.
Armin looked in jealousy at his best friend, shirtless and casting off a slight steam from his skin, sitting against a wall in a patch of greenish-brown grass peeking through the sugary white snow. The blonde pulled his cloak more tightly around his small frame in a vain attempt to keep out the frost.
Eren’s face was about 2 inches from the page of a (most likely illegal) book, his pink tongue flicking across his lips as he struggled to sound out a word.
Eren noticed his glance, as was his uncanny habit. The bright green eyes caught the others, smiling. The brunette beckoned him over.
"Armin!" he called. "Come over here and help me with this."
Needing no further invitation, the boy trotted over. However, he could not say he was expecting Eren’s bare arm to wrap around his shoulder and pull him close.
"Eren!" the blonde cried in shock.
Eren seemed surprised at his exclamation, blinking those huge eyes and tilting his head slightly.
"You seemed cold." he reasoned, almost comically innocent.
Armin sighed yet again- this was a frequent occurrence in being friends with someone like Eren Jaeger.
He did not pull away. Eren had an iron grip on him, and being next to someone so warm wasn’t bad at all in this weather.
"Help me with this word here," said the boy, pointing to a spot on the damp page.
—
Mikasa strode through the icy drifts, searching. Her friend had a habit of disappearing, and even though they were inside the camp she still worried whenever she didn’t see or hear him for more than five minutes- less out of protection and more out of experience that if he wasn’t to be seen, he was probably up to something she'd have to pull him out of.
She finally spotted him, sitting with Armin against a wall. Nothing reckless happening as far as she could tell, just…cute. In a weird sort of way. She huddled into her cloak and pulled the blood-red scarf further up to her chin.
Eren noticed her presence quickly, waving her over.
She trekked through the snow towards the pair, but stopped just short of his reach.
"Eren." she kept her voice level. "Why are you not wearing a shirt?"
The boy shrugged. “Don’t wanna.”
Mikasa raised an eyebrow, and it took all of Eren’s considerable willpower not to shrink under her stare.
"I’m not cold at all." he said, reaching for her. "Feel."
Hesitantly, she reached out and touched his arm. A thin stream of vapor rose from its heat.
Eren took her arm and pulled her close to his side. She yelped, but sat down with him.
"Now I can keep both of you warm!" Eren was childishly delighted, and Mikasa stole a glance to Armin at his other side, who sheepishly offered a small wave.
Wrapped in a sweltering arm each, the two friends had no choice but to accept it. Not that it was an entirely bad situation to be in, considering the weather. Armin took another look at the antique book (who even knows how Eren got the thing) as Mikasa unconsciously shifted a little closer to the human oven next to her.
"So what’s this word say?" the titan-shifter asked, stumbling over letters. "I’ve been trying for half an hour to sound it out."
"Cat, Eren."