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A sigh escaped your lips as you gazed upon the blonde who sat in a chair before you.
“I’m starting to worry about you Armin. Maybe the military isn’t really for you.” You said gently, kneeling beside him to survey the gash on his arm. Thankfully the wound wasn’t too bad, but still needed to be cleaned and patched up, “This has been your fifth trip down here this week. I’m going to end up following you around if you’re this prone to accidents.” You smiled gently as you noticed the blush that filled his cheeks. He really was too cute.
Being about two or three years older than the blonde, it naturally gave you a maternal nature when it came to treating the wounds of the 104th cadets. You may have been young, but the other nurses here in the survey corps have taught you well, and you were just as good as any other nurse.
Five years prior when the Shiganshina district fell, your home, you lost lost your family. They didn’t die, you lost them, you didn’t know where they went. When the boat left for the inner districts, you sat down where your mom told you, and when you went to ask her what was going to happen, they disappeared. So when you arrived at the inner district, you tried looking for them, but when you knew that there was no way you were going to find them, you volunteered to help the wounded. You were only thirteen, but they accepted your help. Now you were really put to the test when the recent fall of Trost, as well as the different military branches tried to reclaim Shiganshina.
Besides, who even lived long enough to be considered 'mature' theses days?
But aside from that, Armin really was worrying you.
Since his first time he sat down on the bed at your station with a nasty cut across his left palm, he’s been back at least every other day. Sure, everything he came in for was pretty minor, except for that fist cut that needed more attention, but was he really starting to become careless out in the field?
You knew of his intelligence and what a great strategist he was, and how his combat skills weren’t all that great, but you knew he at least knew how to keep himself safe at the bare minimum.
“I-I’m sorry!” He stuttered out, hissing as you rolled up the sleeve of his shirt a little more so you could clean the wound. He already took his jacket off, “Connie and J-Jean were messing around, and I-I was just the bystander who got the blow.” He muttered quietly.
A small smile tugged at your lips, “Is that so?” He nodded, “Hmm… Well, this is going to sting, just for fair warning.” You told him as you dipped a clean piece of cloth in some alcohol to disinfect the cut.
He sucked in a breath and clenched the arm of the chair as the cloth was applied. Quickly you wiped the dried blood around the cut and rinsed he cut with regular water and dried it accordingly. With the worst part of the job done, the blond relaxed.
You glanced at him as you placed a clean piece of cloth on the cut, he blushed again when you caught him staring. The blush only made you giggle as you continued wrapping up his arm.
Now that Armin's wound was properly cleaned and bandaged, you dried your hands off as you stood up from your kneeling position.
You placed your hands on your hips as you stared down at the boy.
“Armin,” You started and noticed he was fidgeting under your sharp gaze, “If you come back to this infirmary with any new wounds, I will personally find you and strap you to a bed so you won’t be able to hurt yourself. Understood?” Your voice stern like a mother’s voice when she corrects her child, but your face softened with a smile when he nodded his head vigorously at your statement. “Thank you, now, you may return if you need your bandages changed, but no more new scratches!”
“I-I will try [Name],” he said quietly and he stood from the chair, he stood at your same height, “Thank you.” He said just as softly before he scurried out of the room.
You smiled as he disappeared through the doors. There wasn’t a doubt in mind that you thought the soft spoken blond was cute. It was fact that he was adorable. But if you found him cute in a romantic way…. You weren’t sure about that one yet.
--
After Armin left you to your work, he went straight to where he knew his childhood friends would be. In the dinning hall for lunch.
When Eren saw his blond friend, he rolled his eyes at his bandaged arm, “What did you do this time?” He asked as Armin sat down beside him.
“What are you talking about?” He asked indifferently. Eren just pointed at his arm, and he blushed, “Oh, that… I said that Jean and Connie were messing around with each other and I got the blow.” He admitted sheepishly, when in reality he purposely ran into the corner of a building. Brilliant. Yeah, not really. His head hurt now.
Hearing his name, the said two-toned boy sat himself down across from Armin, “What are you doing that involves my name?” He asked, curiously.
The blush that took over his features doubled as Armin realized he was being caught up in his own lie, “U-Um… W-Well…” He stuttered out awkwardly, staring down at his lap.
Eren sighed again, catching Jean’s attention, but Mikasa spoke up to explain, “Armin has been hurting himself so he can see a nurse he’s developed a crush on.” Her deadpan voice seemed to downgrade the whole thing, which Armin was glad for because it made everything sound less serious than it really was.
Jean stared at Mikasa before looking over at Armin, confusion written on his face as his eyebrow raised with an equally as questioning smirk, “Really? How hot does she have to be for you, Armin, of all people to do this?”
“S-She’s not hot!” Armin exclaimed with the same blush, fists balled on the table, “She’s beautiful and smart and…and…and so nice… She’s the kindest person in the world!”
Jean held his hands up in defense, eyes going wide at Armin’s outburst, still finding it entertaining that he was so star-struck by you, “Ok ok, calm down Armin.” He started, now lowering his hands, “Mind if I see her and see what you find so interesting about her?” His smirk never left his lips.
He wanted to see what Armin was talking about, what got his panties in a twist when someone talked about you.
Armin gave him a long hard stare, not sure if he should let him meet you, as if he any any choice over the matter, he might want to steal you away from him. He knew Jean was stronger than him, taller than him, and even though he failed with Mikasa, he could still catch the attention of many other girls.
“Well… She told me if I hurt myself again she would tie me to a bed so I couldn’t hurt myself again. So you’ll have to do something.” Armin muttered
“Tie you to a bed?” Jean inquired, smirking dangerously, “So she’s kinky?”
Armin’s eyes were set a blaze as stood and actually socked Jean in the stomach over the table, knocking the wind from his lungs and doubled over in his seat groaning.
Eren snickered at the sight, quite impressed by Armin, and the fact he was so protective of you, “Couldn’t you just go see here during your free time instead of hurting yourself?” Eren butted in pointing out the obvious.
The fire that was in Armin’s eyes as he glared at Jean was blown out and replaced with worry and embarrassment, “I-I can’t do that, I wouldn’t be able to talk to her correctly.” He murmured sadly.
A moment or two later, Jean groaned again, but he managed to catch his breath and sit up in his seat, “Fine fine, you seem really attached to her. I’ll say I hit my head and I’m dizzy or something.” Jean said more normally, no longer trying to tease Armin now that he knew he could really pack and punch.
The blonde nodded to the taller male before standing up, “Then let’s get over with it.” He muttered, still annoyed by Jean and his unnecessary comments.
Jean put his arm around the smaller male’s shoulder and holding his head like he was in pain. For an awkward teen like Jean was, he was a pretty good actor. He was able to conduct adequate stumbled feet as if he really was dizzy, Armin was impressed.
It took no time to get to the infirmary.
You were just another one of the nurses bandage a shoulder of another soldier when Armin walked in with Jean. She needed someone to apply pressure as she wrapped the shoulder. You were happy to help and did as she said.
As the door to the infirmary opened, you turned to see who it was. As soon as you recognized the blonde hair coming through the doorway, you glared, “Armin! What did I tell you-” You stopped short when you saw he was helping in another soldier. The nurse you were helping said she was fine and that you could go help them.
You rushed over to the two males, helping the taller make into the same chair Armin sat barely 45 minutes ago. Armin stood beside Jean and looked at you. Your face looked worried and full of concern, he really did think you were the most caring person he had ever met.
“What happened?” You asked as you looked at Jean’s face.
“He hit his head, and said he was dizzy.” Armin stated quietly, not knowing how else to describe it.
“Oh dear,” you said and helped Jean sit straighter up in the chair.
Now Jean got a clearer look of you. You really were as beautiful as Armin said. Your soft [hair color] hair was pulled back out of your face, your [eye color] eyes were shined like stars when you were focused. You were flawless in Armin's eyes. And Jean, he couldn’t help but stare at you, your kindness was leaking from your being, he could feel how big your heart was. Then he remembered the act he had to play, so he unfocused his eyes from you and looked behind you.
“Honey, honey look at me,” You said, making Jean look back at you, “Follow my finger, I need to see if you have a concussion.” He drawled a lazy ‘yes’ and did as you asked.
You held your pointer finger in front of his face and slowly moved it side to side and up and down, watching his pupils. When you see his pupils are dilating, you smile softly and lean away from him, placing your hands on your hips.
“Thankfully you don’t have a concussion. You may have just hit your head hard enough to disorient you, but you should be fine.” You smiled brighter and looked to Armin, who you caught was staring at you again and blushed. A giggle sounded from your lips, “It hasn’t been long, but how’s your arm, Armin?” You asked looking at his bandage.
“O-Oh, it’s fine! Better now.” He stuttered making another giggle leave you.
“I never caught your name.” You said suddenly turning to Jean.
He smiled lazily at you, but Armin spoke up, “This is Jean!” You nodded, everything connecting, at least you thought so.
“So this is Jean?” He nodded, “So you got hurt because of Jean, and now he got hurt himself?” You raised an eyebrow at the blonde, who just started sweating nervously.
“Y-Yeah… That’s w-what happened.” Armin muttered and scratched the back of his head.
You hummed at him, looking back at Jean, who was also staring at you. A blush dusted his cheeks as you looked at him, “Well, Armin, take Jean here to his room so he can rest. If anyone questions you, tell them to talk to me and I’ll send them to Corporal Levi. Understood?” Your voice was deadly, stern, much like how a mother would enforce rules on her children.
Maybe that’s what you were. You were mama hen, and these cadets were your chicks.
Armin and Jean nodded, Jean still playing the part, grabbing his head in pain. Armin helped bring Jean back to the dinning hall, not his room. Because he wasn’t actually hurt.
Eren was talking avidly with Mikasa when they saw Jean and Armin come back, they’re full attention turned to the two of them. “How’d it go?” Eren spoke, looking between them.
“Good I think…” Armin said as he sat down again.
Jean was quiet for a while, spiking Eren’s interest, “Really? What did you think Horse-Face?”
Eren was shot by a harsh glare, but Jean smirked, leaning back slightly as if to show off his dominance, “What can I say? Armin’s into older girls, extremely gorgeous older girls.”
“Wait, how old is she?” Eren asked to Armin, who was once again sweating.
“She’s only two years older then me.” He reasoned, “Not that much older.”
Eren looked shocked. He thought his friend would be more into maybe someone small and their age like Krista, but he did talk about how kind you were. Maybe that’s what attracted him to you, you were comforting and loving, maybe that was it.
After a bit of awkward silence, the titan-shifter spoke out again, “Maybe if you really like her that much, just tell her instead of hurting yourself.” He said, it was the obvious and rational thing to do after all.
“I-I can’t do that! What if she doesn’t feel the same way?! Or or what if she thinks I’m just some kid and laughs at me?!” Armin replied in distress, letting his head fall into the table defeatedly.
“You’re going to,” Eren said with a determined look, “Tomorrow, you’re going to go up to her and tell her about your feelings. I’m also worried about you hurting yourself just to see a girl, you need to see her as a normal person, not as her patient.” Eren was right, Armin didn’t want to admit it, but he was, “Ok?”
Reluctantly, Armin nodded as he rose from the table. And the rest of the day, they started to plan his confession.
--
The next day when Armin went to the infirmary to see you, you were no where in sight. Shyly, he asked the other nurses in the room where you were and they smiled at the bouquet of sunflowers in his hands and told him you had the first half of the day off, so you wouldn’t be here until later. But, they thought it was cute how much Armin adored you, so they told him where your room was, and that you should be up by now as it was already nine in the morning.
With a heated blush, he made his way to your room to pour his heart out.
As he made it to the door the other nurses told him about, he was hesitant. Armin’s hand was poised and ready to knock, but he didn’t. His left hand held the bouquet of sunflowers behind his back, he let out a shaky breath and knocked on the door softly.
The knocks were so gentle, you barely heard them. You were just wallowing in your free time, something you rarely got. So you were just lazily brushing through your hair, taking your time with the activity. But when you heard the knocks, you were sure who you were expecting, nevertheless you opened the door.
A smile formed on your lips when you saw it was Armin, but that smile was turned into a teasing look, “Don’t tell me you’re hurt again, do I really need to tie you down?” You giggled as he blushed and shook his head furiously.
Armin took a deep breath and stood tall. He caught your [color] eyes and kept the eye contact, something he was never able to do. He stood tall, spreading his legs a little more, chest pointing out with his shoulders drawn back, making him look taller than he was. Even though he was noticeably blushing, he didn’t seem as nervous as before.
As he did this, he knew he was basically showing you his attraction towards you, but he also noticed the difference in the way you looked.
Your hair was down, you looked different than you did while you worked in the infirmary, you looked so casual. If it was even possible, you looked even prettier like this. You wore a simple [color] blouse that hung loosely on your body, showing off your collar bones, as well as some of your cleavage. The flowy skirt you were wearing stopped just above your knees, the overall look bringing out your femininity. Then he noticed the blush forming on your cheeks.
Your blush seemed to boost his confidence, “[Name],” he started and pulled out the sunflowers from behind his back, making an audible gasp escape your lips, “I’ve really admired your kindness towards everyone, and how beautiful you are inside and out,” he thrusted the flowers towards you, which you gratefully took, your heart filling with warmth as you looked up from the flowers back at Armin. But that only succeeded in making your blush deepen, “I just want you to know I really adore you!” And with that, it seemed like all the confidence Armin built up vanished and he became the blushing, timid fifteen-year-old boy he was known for.
A soft smile bloomed on your red face, your free hand that wasn’t holding the flowers reached out and touched his cheek, “Is that why you always came in all banged up? To see me?” You guessed, him blushing harder with a reluctant nod. A giggle escaped your lips as you took a step towards him, out of the door way of your room, leaving you hand on his cheek, “Armin?” He looked up at you, “I adore you too, but I’m not sure if this adoration is romantic or not,” his face dropped, “But, if you give me time, as well as stop coming into the infirmary hurt, I’ll try to figure out my feelings towards you. I’ll give you a chance.” He beamed at you, which made you giggle at him, “Sound like a plan?”
He nodded.
With a bright smile you leaned in and gave him a simple kiss on the cheek, Armin would have passed out right then and there if he let himself, “Now, back to the training I’m positive you have at this moment.” You stated in your familiar stern voice.
“R-Right,” he smiled at you and took off down the hall, “I’ll come see you later!” He hollered over his shoulder before he disappeared around the corner.
You smiled to yourself, always knowing there was something up with Armin, and all it was, was a boy with a crush. You were so honored and filled with butterflies, maybe you were love-struck by him too. The flowers were beautiful and bright with color, you immediately went back into your room to find a place to put them.
--
From that day forward, Armin fulfilled his promise, he always came to see you, now without injuries. Every other day he would come by the infirmary after dinner when he was on his way back to the dorms he was sleeping in. He would stay with you there for and hour until you were done with your duties and walked you back to your own room. The other nurses would always comment how cute the two of you were, flustering both you and Armin, but you both never really minded the teasing. And when he would leave you at your room, you would kiss him on the cheek, sometimes on the corner of his lips, but never fully on the lips.
Only when you found out that your feelings for the cadet were romantic, you started leaving kisses on the corner of his lips to tease him, because you knew he wanted more to that. He would of course would never admit to it, but he showed it through his subtle body gestures.
Though it wasn’t verbally stated, you both had mutual feelings for one another.
Neither one of you felt uncomfortable with the age gape because he was mature for his age. The two of you relished in the fact you had someone to hold if needed and to be held by if needed as well, and in a world like this, that’s a necessity.