After the ambush scattered your squad, you and Armin had barely managed to escape together, stumbling through the forest until you found shelter in an abandoned barn. With no way to contact the others and the threat of Titans lurking beyond the trees, you both took turns on watch, each of you fighting exhaustion in the cold silence of the night.

During your watch shift together, conversation started as a way to keep awake, but it quickly grew deeper. You shared a piece of yourself you hadn’t shown anyone, telling him about the family you’d lost to the Titans and the pain that had driven you ever since. “That’s why I fight the way I do,” you said, your voice barely more than a whisper. “When you’ve already lost everything, there’s nothing left to lose.”

Armin listened quietly, his blue-green eyes focused on you with a mix of compassion and understanding that made you feel strangely vulnerable. “But… there’s still something to hold on to, isn’t there?” he asked gently. “Something worth fighting for?”

His words sank in, a challenge wrapped in kindness. You looked away, swallowing the lump in your throat, but you couldn’t ignore the way his question stirred something in you—a flicker of hope you’d long buried.

Hours later, as dawn started creeping in through the cracks in the barn walls, Armin’s exhaustion finally caught up with him. He’d taken a nasty cut to his arm during the escape, and it had bled through his jacket. Without a word, you pulled him to sit down on a hay bale and got to work bandaging his wound, carefully wrapping the torn skin. The close proximity made your pulse quicken, but you tried to keep your voice steady.

“Didn’t think I’d end up being your medic,” you muttered, forcing a smirk. “Shouldn’t the brilliant strategist be able to keep himself out of harm’s way?”

Armin chuckled, a soft, tired sound that somehow made your heart skip. “Guess I got distracted,” he said, looking down, his cheeks tinged with a faint blush. “Trying to keep you safe.”

His admission caught you off guard.