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The small library lacked in it’s variety, but the handful of books it kept were precious to Armin. His fingers glided across each spine in front of him as he sat alone, the morning sun provided efficient light as he browsed his selection. There was no information he was seeking out, just the comfort of the words and occasionally drawings. His eyes were heavy, tired from a long night ride back to the base. There had been another breech on the wall and Captain Levi’s had volunteered his squad to help out. It was an easy clean up, but the ride back home was tiring.
“Armin, there you are.”
He glanced up from the book in his hand; it was Eren, looking just as tired as Armin felt. “I’ve been looking for you, Jean and the others are going to get lunch off base. Are you coming?”
Eren’s hair was much longer than it had been in years, Armin brought a hand to his own and touched the long strands. It was quite possible he needed a haircut and he wondered how he’d look with a shorter style, but it felt silly and he just nodded to his friend. The pair left the library, but not without Armin picking a book to take with him.
The walk to the dining hall was mostly quiet, except for the occasional remark from Eren about the new weapons he was eager to try. Armin was a bit hesitate to agree to join Mikasa and him later on to try them out, but he promised to think about it. He didn’t say it out loud, but Armin thought about the fact that he was now one of Paradis’s greatest weapons and how it felt silly to be excited about new weapons. Yet, he understood Eren’s eagerness, so he amused him with a smile as they approached the mess hall.
Inside, it was easy to find their group of friends, the lot of them tucked away in a corner. Eren motioned for Armin to follow him – they both walked around the other tables to the kitchen and grabbed a tray of food. Jean, Connie, and Sasha were sitting on one side of the table together, while Mikasa sat alone, obviously saving seats for the two of them.
“I still don’t understand why we have to eat this crap when Sasha a direct connection to Niccolo. We could be eating his food, if Potato girl asked him to make us something.”
“Jean’s right,” Connie grinned, nudging Sasha, who was busy stuffing her mouth with bread. Her eyes widen and she nodded, jumping up from her seat and declaring she was going to go find the chef. Jean frowned when she took off with her plate, complaining that she was definitely not going to bring back any food for them.
“That’s our Sasha,” Armin mused, taking a seat next to Eren. His heart sank when he noticed you weren’t at the table but his slight despair faded when he saw you approaching the table, two books tucked under your arm. He smiled as you slammed a food tray on the table next to Jean, urging the man to scoot over.
“Move over,” you ordered, nodding to Armin. “Hey.”
“How are you?”
“Hange was keeping me trapped in her lab,” you explained, collapsing across from Armin. He grinned and asked if you were helping her with an experiment. “That woman is an experiment.”
Armin laughed, his cheeks red as the rest of the table went silent. He realized than that you hadn’t acknowledged anyone else and quickly asked if you were interested in joining Eren, Mikasa, and himself at the shooting range. “Eren wants to try out the new firearms.”
“I thought you weren’t up for it,” Eren pointed out but Armin shrugged, trying his best to keep his cheeks from burning brighter.
Armin watched as you broke your bread, offering the other half to Jean, who took it. “Sure, but I understand why Mikasa wants to check out the new guns but you two?”
Jean, knowing where you headed, snorted. Ignoring him, you gave the man across from you a sad smile. “I mean, you’re the biggest titan we have, I didn’t know weapons were a priority for you, Armin.”
“Oh -” he stuttered, slightly embarrassed as the thought of you being a mind reader crossed his mind. “I can understand that point but I think it’s important familiarize ourselves with all the new technology the Marleyan military has given us.”
Armin noticed the disappointment in your face but it quickly changed into a smile, and he asked if you still wanted to go after lunch. Glancing over to Jean, you asked if Connie and him will be joining as well. “Sorry to disappoint, but we have some stuff do with with Sasha, but we’re still on for tonight?”
Your eyes went wide as he stood up and laughed. Connie followed suit and the pair picked up their food trays as Jean repeated his questions. “Yes, go away now. See ya, Connie.”
The two said their goodbyes and walked away, you chuckled at Jean’s blatant deception. It obviously worked because Eren stared at you and asked if you were seeing Jean. Nearly choking on a piece of beard, you glanced over to Armin – his eyes were narrowed down to his plate and you felt sick to your stomach.
“First of all, what I do is none of your business,” you scolded Eren, eyes darting to Armin. “Secondly, no. We...well, Connie, Sasha, Jean and I like to venture out after hours…”
“So you break curfew,” Mikasa said.
“So, you sneak out,” Eren confirmed.
“So, you go out to have fun,” Armin explained, ignoring the stares he gained from his childhood friends. You grinned, pushing forward the two books you had placed on the table. Speaking directly and only to Armin, you tapped the top book and sighed. “All we do is fight to keep everyone alive, we’re so busy fighting for a life we can’t enjoy. The four of us agreed that we weren’t going to let life pass us by. We’re still so young, Armin – don’t you remember how exciting it was when we all saw the ocean for the first time?”
He could practically smell the sea water as he thought of that day.
Eren had been so caught up in his own world and Mikasa had been so caught up in Eren, but all Armin could do was touch the water and listen to the screams of joy coming from you.
“Jean! No! Sasha don’t help them!”
Armin turned to his right just in time to see Jean, Connie, and Sasha attempting to push you into the water. Your yelps were sharpened with delight as you managed to escape their evil plan – the trio turning on each other as you rushed towards Armin. His heart raced as you struggled to get to him, grabbing his hand as he reached out for you. Stumbling, you nearly tripped over what felt like a rock but he quickly grabbed you by the waist. His cheeks went red as you stood up, letting your hand slide down to his wrist. Your fingers pressed into his skin, holding him tightly as you pointed out to the vast ocean.
“What do you think is beyond the sea, Armin?” you whispered, eyes set forward.
Unable to help it, Armin stole a glance at you; the moment forever burning into his memories. The feeling of your fingers wrapped around his wrists, altogether warm and wet from the water, and the hope in your eyes as the two of you stood against the small waves of what was the ocean.
"I don't know."
“I remember,” he whispered.
“Never let that go,” you said. Mikasa and Eren were both staring at their food as you cleared your throat and shrugged. “Anyway, there’s this small tavern at the end of town. They let us in and we mostly go to listen to the music. There’s this woman who sings, her voice is amazing. If she’s not there, we like to walk around the dock.”
“I’d like to go,” Armin blurted out, catching himself by surprise. He chuckled, scratching the back of his head. “If that’s okay…”
“Of course,” you grinned, gathering up your belongings. “An hour after lights out, we meet at the west end gate. Same guard every other night, I think he has a soft spot for us plus we always bring him food from the tavern.”
Armin nodded, his heart growing impatient. “An hour after lights out, got it!”
“You two should come too,” you nodded to Eren and Mikasa. Picking up the tray, Eren mentioned the shooting range. “Oh, right. Nah, I have to go back to the lab with Hange. I have some important research I’m doing.”
“Tonight then,” Armin chimed in and you smiled at him, warmth spreading across your face.
“Yeah, I’ll see you tonight, you guys tonight."