Pairing: Armin/Historia

Verse: Canon | Rating: T | Word Count: 1k

A/N: For those of you who don't know, I'm taking a break from Tumblr. The only reason why I haven't gotten any more hate (and thankfully, no death threats), is because I turned anon off days prior to the rude things being said about me because I don't ship Yumikuri. I won't get into it, because I want you guys to enjoy my writing and not be bored to death with my personal issues, hah. No matter what people say about me, I will still write for the ships I love! Arukuri is everything.

M'kay, so I really should refresh my memory and re-read Historia's arc, but I really just wanted an excuse to write Armin and Historia snuggling up by the fire at the house Squad Levi was staying at briefly. I have a post full of fluff starters saved and tagged that I like to look at for reference, and honestly all of them scream Arukuri. Since Christmas is right around the corner, I figured why not? Happy holidays, everyone!

"Here, let's share the blanket."

Historia shrinks away from the offer, leaning in the opposite direction. As kind as Armin is, she doesn't deserve it. But he's insisting, she sees it in his eyes and his posture and his smile.

"It's okay. I don't mind." His arm is still outstretched for her, blanket and all. "I think its big enough for the both of us."

...She cannot resist him. Timidly, she moves closer with a swift slide of her butt until they were side by side, and the blanket is draped around her softly. She fights a shiver and pulls her side of the blanket closer to her body, ultimately bringing her and Armin even closer than where they already were in the process.

Armin has a comforting aura around him and it's contagious. The silence that follows is not tense but peaceful, and Historia stares absently into the flames before them. She remembers going to get that firewood. With Mikasa. The raven doesn't pry, which the blonde is grateful for, and working together with her brings Historia back to her days as a cadet. She lived a lie, yes, but the lie is better than the alternative. Well at least, that's what she thought. Do the others really accept her for who she is, despite pretending this whole time?

"Yes."

Historia blanches, whipping her head around to look at him. "What?"

Armin chuckles. "Thinking out loud?"

"Eh…?"

Okay yeah, so what?

"I know the feeling…" She doesn't doubt it. Armin, you know everything. "I, ah, I like your name, by the way. Your real name," he adds. "It's nice."

Her cheeks grow hot, and she's positive it's not from the fire. "Oh. Thanks."

Armin hums.

"Why are you all so...accepting about this?" she can't help but blurt out. "I've lied to all of you about who I was, my name, my personality, everything! How could you accept me so quickly?"

"At this point, we have to stick together as a team, now more than ever. We're not good people anymore, and from the looks of it lately we have more than one opposing enemy. Who else can we trust?"

"You seem so sure."

His smile this time is sad. "I'm not."

And it saddens her. To think that the smartest and sweetest person she knows is unsure actually frightens her. When chaos erupts around them, Armin always keeps a level head. His mind is always racing, always one step ahead of everyone else. While he wants to fight with his intellect, she wishes to flight and run away from the problem. As much as she's not like her Christa persona, they both were very much cowards. Every time she sees a titan, her body trembles and her palms start to sweat and her stomach feels like it dropped to her feet. She's scared. She's only gotten this far by luck.

There has to be some reason why she's still here.

"You're stronger than what you give yourself credit for, Armin," she says somberly, her blank gaze drifting back to the fire. "I've always admired that about you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Sometimes I envy you."

"Why?"

"Because! You're so smart and your plans have always worked. If it wasn't for you, we probably wouldn't even be here right now. We would have been...titan shit."

Armin laughs. The sound is literally wind chimes. "Titans don't have genitalia, nor a digestive tract."

"Don't be a smartass."

He laughs again, and this time she can't help but to stare at his face in wonder. If angels were real, he would be the epitome of one. His hair is a much darker gold than hers and his eyes were such a rich enticing blue that she could stare into them for hours. His lips part, revealing a set of pearly white teeth, and the way the flames reflected off of his face made it look like they were dancing across his soft features.

"What are you smiling at?"

Crap. She was smiling?

"Yeah. You were."

Abort mission.

"And you still are."

Abort, abort, abort!

"What, so I can't smile now?" she counters with defensively, however maintaining a flat tone.

Her. cheeks. are. on. fire.

"No, no, no! I'm not saying that." And she could have sworn he started blushing just now. "You wanna know what I think?"

"What?"

"I think that...you have a really pretty smile," he confesses. "And you should do it more often."

She hides her face as the burning intensifies, and her stomach will not stop doing somersaults. "Why'd you say that?"

"Tomorrow's not guaranteed," he points out, his gaze returning to the fire. "We should enjoy the time we have together...while we still have it."

Historia tucks a free strand of hair behind her ear, wetting her lips with a swift swipe of the tongue. He's right. Armin is always right.

And his words will stick with her when she goes to sleep that night on his shoulder. About tomorrow not being promised, about how they accepted her, about how he likes her name. Her real name.

And how she had a pretty smile.