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It had been a long day for Eren and Armin. Titans as a problem were only getting worse, putting even more strain on the survey corps. He’s glad he didn’t have to witness another person’s death today. He expected it every mission, but he just wasn’t used to it.
“When will they ever give us a break?” Armin groaned as he changed from his uniform in a sloppy manner. He had little energy left, considering it was past midnight. “Levi said he wanted to have a private talk with us tomorrow,” Eren said. “I don’t know what his motives are, but I just know it’s something bad…”
“We’ll figure it out tomorrow… it’s too late for us to be worrying about anything,“ Armin muttered.
Eren nodded at him. “Right.”
Armin and Eren both got in bed, quickly throwing the sheets over their bodies.
“Goodnight,” Armin muttered.
“Goodnight.”
–––
It wasn’t a good night, at least for Eren. Falling asleep was a hassle, and when he finally did, he later woke up from having a nightmare. It was always the same plot. He hasn’t recovered from witnessing the death of his mother years ago, so his nightmares consisted of Armin being caught by a titan. Him, along with Mikasa, would then be forced to watch their best friend be eaten alive.
Armin…
He turned his head to see the blond caught in a deep slumber. Eren knew how exhausted he was from the missions, as he didn’t even bother to change his clothes properly. He was also very emotional at times. Not in a bad way, but rather in a helpless way.
Eren blushed slightly, his face turning into a soft smile. He looks peaceful when he’s sleeping…
Suddenly, three knocks were coming from the door. Eren knew it was Mikasa, as she said she would return to him and Armin with information as soon as possible. He wanted to get up and talk to her, but also didn’t want to wake up Armin.
Mikasa knocked on the door again. “Eren? Armin? Are you two home?”
While attempting to not wake Armin, Eren got out of bed and walked up to the door. Mikasa was seen holding a letter in her hand when he opened the door. “Apologies for disturbing you this late,” she began. “Here, I wrote it down so that you and Armin can go over it as much as you both need to.”
“Thank you Mikasa,” Eren said. Waving goodbye, Mikasa walked off, only to walk back up to Eren to ask, “Is Armin sleeping right now?”
“Yeah, he was exhausted from the missions.”
“Oh, okay then. You two sleep well,” Mikasa said as she left. Eren closed the door and went back to his shared bed. He wanted to read the letter instead of bothering to go to sleep, but decided to wait until morning for the sake of Armin.
“Maybe now I’ll be able to fall asleep and hope I have a dream instead of a nightmare…” Eren thought to himself as he closed his eyes.
“Eren…”
“Mhm?” Eren turned his head over to where Armin was, but he was still sleeping. All he heard were quiet snores. He didn’t think much about it, closing his eyes again.
“Please don’t ever… ever leave me…”
Eren moved closer to where the other man was sleeping. “I would never leave you… you or Mikasa.”
Why was Armin telling him this? Was he awake this entire time? Was he awake at all? Eren wasn’t aware of the fact that Armin was a sleeptalker. Maybe he’s talked in his sleep in the past, but Eren was asleep. If his dreams frequently had the two of them, Mikasa, and titans as an appearance, then Eren was not surprised.
Eren impulsively grabbed Armin’s hand, holding it gently in case he was prone to waking up easily at the moment.
“You know what I like about you?” Armin muttered.
“What?”
“Everything.”
Eren was falling asleep, but could still hear Armin’s breathing. He didn’t say anything after that, though.
–––
Dawn had come already, and Eren somehow, was able to get a decent amount of sleep.
“Morning,” Armin yawned as he stretched his body. “Good morning. Mikasa came while you were sleeping. The information’s in that letter on the table,” Eren said as he was changing into his uniform. He could’ve sworn he saw Armin being flustered in the corner, but a reminder that popped up in his head distracted him.
“Shit, I forgot about Levi’s private talk with us,” Eren grumbled. “I hope I don’t get kicked just like that one time years ago.”
“It’s okay, don’t think too hard about it. I don’t want you to be overly anxious while we visit him,” Armin said as he put his hand on Eren’s shoulder, causing the other man to blush.
“Hey Armin, I have a question,” Eren said.
“Okay, what is it?”
“What were you dreaming about last night?”
Armin froze up for a second. “I don’t quite remember… all I know is that it involved you, me, and the ocean.”
“That sounds like a typical dream for you.” Really, it was a typical dream for the two of them. Whether who had more nightmares than the other was another story.
Eren and Armin continued on with their morning routines without bothering each other.
“Eren, why did you ask me that? Did I do something in my sleep?”
Eren was hesitant on telling him, but eventually said, “You didn’t seem like you were fine in your dreams. You said something along the lines of “I love everything about you” in the middle of the night.”
Armin immediately became flustered after being told what he said in his sleep. He wasn’t even aware that he was a sleeptalker.
“It was nothing really… dreams can be random at times, r-right?”
“Armin,” Eren put his hand on Armin’s shoulder and pulled him closer. “What do you think of me? How do you feel about me?”
“You’re… I don’t know if I would still be alive if it wasn’t for you.”
Eren leaned in closer to kiss Armin. It was soft and sweet, as he didn’t want to make him uncomfortable if he went in with a passionate kiss. Armin was shocked by this sudden move from his own best friend. Were they even considered best friends at this point? Eren felt the same way towards him? He placed his hands on Eren’s hips, kissing him back. A moment later, Eren pulled away, staring into his eyes.
“How does that make you feel now?” Eren asked.
“Good… it makes me feel… satisfied.” Armin said. “I didn’t even know that you reciprocated the same feelings.”
Eren smiled while giving Armin a hug. “Today’s barely started yet you’ve already made it good for me,” he admitted.
“I’m glad I made you forget about the talk,” Armin chuckled, pulling back.
“You just made me remember… but it’s not bothering me for now.”
Eren and Armin walked out of the room in a better mood than last night. Mikasa saw the two holding hands while their cheeks were flushed. Her face turned into a smirk.
“I knew there was something going on between them.”