𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 | 𝐀𝐎𝐓

Extra #2 | Courage

"A One-Shot in which Haco and Armin pass some time with each other."

// No POV //

The relentless heat of the sun and the pure winds blowing throughout the sky were slowly making Haco's dull mind lethargic and sluggish. He rapidly blinked and yawned, his mouth cracked wide open. He turned over on his side to find the blonde boy that he so liked, who was walking towards him with evident anxiousness. "Hey, Armin." Haco said, a bit disinterested even if his heartbeat increased. "H-Hey." Armin replied, sitting beside him as they watched the squad having their fun. Even their Captain looked incredibly comfortable with this peacefulness, more so because you were there and alright after you came back as a Titan.

The blonde noticed your cousin clenching his hand at the fact that Levi doesn't seem to stay away from you even for one minute. You're not his wife for fuck's sake, Haco would really like for him to stay far from you. He breathed in and out, and he was again aware of the breeze, the grass, and the comfortable silence under a blanket of sky blue. "You don't accept their feelings towards one another." Armin blurted out without thinking much, he thought Haco would stand up and leave, but that wasn't the case. Instead, he frowned a little and sighed. "No, absolutely not. If I couldn't allow it then I would tell her, but she's older than me and none of us are kids."

"Maybe the Captain isn't exactly the... Ideal type? We both know how he is, however, look at him." Armin suggested, making Haco furrow his eyebrows at the sight in front of them. Levi had passed you the food you wanted to eat without hearing Hange's recommendations, and your cousin noticed your eyes shining when you drank your favorite tea. "The Captain won't stop taking care of (Y/N)." To be honest, Haco was slightly relieved that the tiny man didn't hurt you anymore.

Armin stared at your cousin intently, he wasn't sure what to ask about that didn't have to do with you, or about training, or about his opinions on things that did not gain his interest... They could speak about themselves, but Armin didn't gain the courage and pursed his lips as he began flushing. Both boys closed their eyes, a pleasant coolness helped relax the two of them, and above them, a leaf hung, then fell from the tree. The breeze carried it away before it could land on either boy's face or disturb them from their rest, all they could feel were the winds, the ground, and the presence of the beloved companion beside them. Haco cracked open an eye to peer at the boy at his left, Armin tried to hide it, but the slight furrow of his eyebrows in worry was visible to his watchful gaze. There was a rustle of grass and leaves beside him and Armin opened his eyes as well to see Haco sitting up and reaching over to grab a bag that had been lying beside his head.

"I almost forgot to tell you." Said Haco, pulling out two wraps that contained a bag of apples. "I brought food for the squad to eat." Armin's eyes widened. Food was rather scarce in the Military Police's place, and it was next to a miracle that Haco had managed to find any leftover rations for snacking on that weren't for their eating schedule. Haco chuckled upon seeing the look of utter disbelief and bewilderment on the blond's face, feeling his heart jump in happiness. "What? Where did you get these from?" Armin questioned.

"I stole them from Sasha." Your cousin said triumphantly, pleased to see Armin's expression of joy and to hear the laughter erupting from his throat. "I know it sounds bad... And I did feel bad when I was doing it. But then I figured that she probably has a backup stash hidden somewhere else." Armin's heart lurched a little. He had stolen this from Sasha... Had Haco been lurking around the girl's barracks? And if so, for who? He couldn't help but feel jealous, Haco wasn't his first crush, he was the person he loved more than something childish, someone he wants to spend time with forever. Not only had your cousin repeatedly insisted that his lack of strength shouldn't be something that deserved to be looked down upon, but after all, Armin was deemed the smartest among the 104th cadets and was always praised for being their best soldier when it came to formulating successful strategies. However, the way the blonde saw it, what was the good of creating those clever battle strategies, if his physical abilities were useless in applying them to real-life situations? He would never find someone like him again if he lost him.