.:Last Resort:.

The harness was tight around his chest; far too tight to be normal. He hissed in a jagged breath, wincing as the fog was quickly cleared from his mind by the sudden pain crushing his lungs. Weakly an eye cracked open, blinking wearily through the falling dust and debris about him.

It looks like snow...

Shaking his head weakly, cringing at the headache forming behind his eyes, he raised a hand. Or...dropped a hand, he wasn't sure anymore, but at least reality was repairing itself enough for him to realize his upside down position. His gaze trailed to the blood that seemed to collect around his fingers, making them slick and impossible to unfasten the harness belt.

What had...

A frown began to weigh on the blonde's face as he closed his eyes again. He thought back, remembering the meeting of their unit, Levi had told them something about packing extra ponchos before he left for find Erwin; something about there being snow.

Snow...

Letting his arm fall back down, Armin sighed softly, coughing as his chest gave way to a fit of weak convulsions. Think Arlert, he scolded himself, squinting through the dusty air. Then he gasped, eyes shooting wide as he remembered that horrid abnormal titan laughing down at them, crouching behind its miniature army of 50 meters. He sneered when he thought back to its horrible voice calling down to Eren.

Eren…

Struggling, Armin fought against his 3D maneuver gear. Twisting, he narrowed his eyes at the gas tanks smashed against the old castle wall, leaking steadily down the rock face. The tanks were nearly empty now; how long had he been out?!

He scowled at himself as his hips twisted in the damp leather. The unit had fought well from what he could remember, tearing titans down as if they were paper. But then Levi was swatted from the sky like an annoying fly by that monster and the men had faltered. Posts were abandoned and people scattered like frightened children as they struggled to regain their ground. Armin braced his teeth as he struggled against the rock face holding his harness tight to the wall, constricting him. Who wouldn't have balked at the sight of their commanding officer thrown to the ground by that giggling titan? He himself hated to admit he too had frozen in shock, he thought he was past that part already. He remembered holding fast to Eren's poncho, desperate and cold when the titan looked to them.

Eren.

A mantra, steady and strong; that was what that man's name had become to him. Armin winced when he finally managed to arch a leg forward, knee bent, putting the top of his boot just within finger's reach. The small pocket knife slipped free; it was old but it would be enough. His head fought with him, polluted from inhaling the gasoline vapors when he was out. The blonde could smell it in his hair; it sickened him.

Eren!

Knife between his teeth, Armin forced his other arm to move. This one had suffered the worse for the strategist. He swore lightly over the metal when he felt the joint in his shoulder slide abnormally when he raised his hand; dislocated then, easy enough to fix. Holding tight to the harness across his hips, he took the knife in his wounded hand and began cutting through the straps asphyxiating his chest.

When they snapped free, he breathed a sigh of relief and his mantra came to life on his lips with a weak, hoarse, "Eren." Taking in gentle, but of so deep and grateful, gulp of air, Armin slowly brought himself up at the waist. He could feel his weakened abdominal muscles burn and twitch in protest, but he fought on into a hanging crunch. He refused to be a burden anymore; the past had shown that his place at Eren's side was not for the weak of heart.

But what frightened him now, drove him to fight and struggle, was the look on Eren's face when Armin had shoved him to the ground in turn making the blonde the prime target of choice. The brunette's call echoed in Armin's ears still, a cracking tenor of a desperate man when the titan had reached down and picked Armin up in place of Eren. But as Armin stared at the creature's face, it's dumb grin mimicking the ones you see children wearing when they torture ants beneath the sun, for once he was calm enough to stare back.

He could feel a sheen of sweat covering him despite the chill of the late fall weather blowing the dust around like a hurricane as he worked to free himself. His foot had managed to get caught in the rock face in the impact, his heel practically kissing the inside of the old rock wall.

The blonde cringed, remembering his final mistake before being thrown away like a broken toy. He had turned to look back at Eren, fully content with accepting the inevitable knowing the brunette could get away now to fight another day. He faltered when their eyes connected, seeing a mirror image of himself from all those few years ago when he had in turn watched Eren push him aside in self-sacrifice.

Armin bit back a yelp when he managed to dislodge his foot; falling far from gracefully against the rock face again. He closed his eyes for a brief second, snapping them back open in disgust when that scene played back again behind his eyes. Nightmares were for the dark, when he could cover his mouth and hide beneath a cover. They were where arms could wrap around him and hold him flush against a chest so warm it felt like fire and chased the frights away. There was no place for nightmares in this living world of hell where comforts came so few and far between.

And damn it, he was not going to let this comfort fade away with the others.

Bracing himself, Armin took a hesitant look down. He measured by sight alone, a quality lacking in this dimly lit castle ruin, and sighed gratefully when he managed to spot a ledge no more than a yard beneath him. The worse he supposed would happen were a possible sprain, heavy bruising, and a concussion if he twisted his landing the wrong way. But it was a surface he could stand on and be free from this hanged man tarot pose. He would worry about the black hole he assumed to be the floor at another time. Looking back to his hip braces, the blonde slipped his knife beneath a frayed edge, and inhaling quickly, snapped it free.

There was a moment of trepidation as the blonde dangled, supported only by one leg as he dared himself not to scream out at the sudden weight to his injured limb. Teeth gritted, he began to cut away the remaining straps holding him prisoner to that ancient wall.

He fell, loud and heavy against the jutting wall spread out to catch him like a hand. He bit back a scream, curling in on himself as he rolled to his side, having made the dumb mistake of twisting when he was in the air. His ribs screamed at him now, cupped tenderly beneath his hands, and his knee had gone numb from the impact.

…Eren, I….

The empty castle was filled with the heavy sound of Armin trying to catch his breath; a wheeze and gasp, followed by coughs and a miniscule groan. Tired eyes looked up to the window and blinked shut.

I'm sorry… Eren…

He rolled weakly to his back, looking up at the endless ceiling. The top of the castle had disappeared over the years; Armin tried to think from what as his body fought against him.

Lighting? Possible.

Fire? Maybe once upon a time.

Titans? He didn't doubt it.

There were splinters of wood rotting away from their holds in the stone work; draped in creeping ivory that greedily ate the top and spilt over to the dusty world within. He counted the color changes along the tower walls, four in total including his own shelf; four floors that had been destroyed by the years and elements so determined to wipe humanity from the earth's face.

Eyes creaked shut again as the man's breath finally returned to a normal rate. Tender fingers ran up his sides, breathing slow and shallow as he traced each bruising spindle of bone originally meant to protect him. Relief washed over him when he felt each straight beneath his wrinkled white shirt. Bruised and most likely cracked in several places, but at least they were all in one piece. He scowled thinking on the crumpled shirt beneath his fingers; it had been clean and neat this morning, one of his favorites. Now only God above knew what state his attire was in if his 3D gear had anything to say about it.

Grunting weakly, Armin forced himself to sit, then to stand. His weight almost crashed back down when his knee dangerously wobbled beneath him, still numb from its impact. He didn't dare move the boot to inspect it; keep as many layers between it and the outside world, just like his grandfather had taught him.

Armin scraped along the wall, limping to the edge until he could look down into the dark. He nearly jumped from his skin at the sight of the titans starting back up at him; their dumb eyes lighting up in the weak light.

Get yourself out of this one, Arlert, the voice in his head chastised. He weakly beat his knuckles against his temple; the voice could berate him all it wanted after he got out of the tower. With down crossed off his possible escape lists, Armin turned back to looking upwards. His eyes widened both in horror and a sickening delight when he saw one of his soldiers corpses hanging through the window. It was a stretch, but the man still had his gear on. "Sorry," Armin whispered, creeping to the other side of his ledge. He flinched when he heard the titans shuffling beneath him, following him, like wolves cornering the wandering sheep.

A scowl formed on his face when he stopped at the edge. The window was at least an arm's reach and a stretch away from him; he could grab the body and haul it in to rest on the ledge. But, he eyed it bitterly. The corpse had belonged to one of the large men in the unit. Even on a good day Armin realized he had a better chance of beating Mikasa in a wrestling match than moving this body.

…Eren, can I? I have to, huh?

He heaved a sigh, coughing at the residual pressure along his chest. His body told him no, to just sit and wait; maybe they would notice he had gone missing. Someone was bound to come looking for him. But logic told him better; he had been brought off the battle field, away from the group where a titan could have easily picked him off even if he had been in top form. Reality told him that once he had left that fight, three minutes of absence would have been enough to convince the remainder of his unit that he was gone.

"Sorry, sir," he whispered as if the body could hear him. He supposed it was worthless, the poor sod's head had been clean ripped off. Supporting himself on the wall, Armin reached out to grab the straps of the man's shoulder guards, wincing as his back convulsed around a hidden gash. Holding his breath, he braced his hip flush against the wall and reached with his other hand.

"One."

I've done worse to survive, right?

"Two."

Hell, I've done worse to keep Eren alive, let alone myself. That mad man would have been dead more times than I care to count.

"Three."

He smiled. That beautifully mad, mad man…

"Come on," Armin grunted, breaking his thoughts as he put his weight behind him and tugged on the body. A brief grin broke across his lips when it budged, only to be shot off in surprise when the corpse responded too well to the added weight and flew towards Armin. The blonde fell down, wincing as his head collided with an audible smack against the stone.

Groaning, he turned his head to the side, warily attempting to blink and bring everything to focus. His eyes widened at the new weight on his body, and quickly he scrambled back from the body. A forlorn look was spared to his shirt, now bloody and covered in things Armin just couldn't bring himself to process at the moment. Instead, he set himself on the task of pulling the gear off of his fallen soldier in arms and carefully strapped it on his person.

He shuffled awkwardly beneath the weight of the straps. They were just a tad too big for the man, and put too much pressure on the wrong parts of his already sore and bruising hips. But who was he to look a gift horse in the mouth. Smiling, he leaned over to give the titans a last look. "I wonder how you got stuck," Armin mused with a shrug, taking a step back. "Doubt you fell from the roof," but then with titans he could never be sure any more. Turning back to his faceless hero, Armin briefly dipped his head in thanks.

He just barely pressed himself against the wall and strained his neck looking upwards to double check his targeting. It was an easy enough climb; circular room, plenty of space to hook onto and just ride the air. Shuffling a final time, he raised the swords and inhaled sharply.

You want to see the world, Eren?

He winced when he pulled the triggers, half expecting Lady Luck to shoot him in the foot and deliver him faulty gear on a dead man. Instead, he allowed himself a brief smile as he ascended the grey stone tower. In a miniscule flash of euphoria he closed his eyes to enjoy the silence, the titans too far below him now to be heard. It really did sound like snow, the soft falling of the dust and debris around him.

His gear clicked to a halt when he managed to reach the top. Wincing when his knee pressed against the destroyed stone and wood, cursing of all times for it to regain its sense of touch, Armin hauled himself up to the remains of the conical and stood overlooking the battle field.

Or what else was left of it, he should have said.

He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the titan corpses littering the ground; their commanding officers nowhere in sight. Armin silently begged every god he had ever heard mentioned in a book that Eren hadn't been a fool to chase after the strange abnormal; but he didn't doubt its possibility. Instead, he counted the standing, the survivors; the weak ones moving, but littered across the grass. It wasn't one of their worse scrabbles, but it wasn't one of the bests.

From his place he could see soldiers running through the field, checking each other, calling out names that came as soft as bells to Armin's ears from his perch. He couldn't fight the smile spreading to his face when he thought of how he must look if anyone turned to see him, covered in dust and blood, in a 3D harness almost three sizes too big for him, and wearing a mad man's grin.

Sometimes the insanity wore away at the best of them, and even the weakest in training gained a crazed man's eye. They needed humor somewhere in this crazy life, and Armin wasn't picky for his brand of smiles.

He turned his attention to the west, raising his arm to shield his eyes against the dying sun. The decaying corpse of a titan slumped across the grass, cast into shadow from the sun behind it. The blonde slowly dropped his arm, watching as the survivors ran around this titan in particular.

He felt his heart drop, begging silently that the titan hadn't been the killer of someone he knew. The turnover rate of the scouting legion was high, but there were the select few that Armin had come to respect and take time to learn their names. It was a cruel thing, but to know only faces made the numerous deaths easier on the blonde and he preferred to keep it that way.

But as his eyes adjusted to the final fighting rays of sun, his smile reappeared in full strength. He pointed the trigger and pulled, flying once more through the air towards the downed creature gathering all the attention.

His legs gave out under him this time when he landed. With a wince, Armin pushed himself up, scowling down at the grass for a moment as he chastised himself for putting too much speed into his descent. His landings always left more to be desired, usually ending in improvised summersaults when he was caught off guard. But with a body this bent and broken, he was just happy he could stand again.

Then he heard his name, soft and floating like bird wings right when they take up. He snapped his head up, grinning at the brunette clambering off the shoulders of the titan shell before him. His name had to be called again, as if saying it again made Armin all the more real. Then that grin split across the other's face, and he jumped the last six or so feet from the titan, despite Armin's stammers as he tried to prevent it.

He couldn't help the grunt that escaped him with Eren's body slammed against his own, crushing bruised ribs all over again. The hug was allowed for a moment, Armin chuckling as he returned the embrace, but soon it was bringing tears to his eyes and he was smacking the other's back in a panic.

Eren pulled back as if he had been shot, quickly holding Armin out at arm's length looking the other over from his weak smile to oddly bent knee. "Shit," the brunette breathed, moving to support the other with Armin's arm over his shoulder. Armin swatted him away quickly, sighing at the hurt look he was rewarded with.

"Not," he coughed to clear out his drying throat. "Not that one. This one." He stretched out his good hand towards the other in emphasis, laughing when Eren rushed to support that side. As the brunette carefully led him away from the silent battle field, Armin cast him a wary glance.

"…Levi?"

Eren nodded at the question, eyes drifting towards a horse farther down the line of readying soldiers. Armin turned his head, smiling in relief when he saw the short spit-fire of a man sitting tall despite his shoulder in a makeshift sling. "He's dead set that he dislocated something; won't let anyone touch it until we get back to the base," Eren sighed with a grin, turned his head at the blonde's laugh and smiling brightly at the weak grin on the Armin's face.

"No offence, but I think I won the 'whole bled more' completion this time." He turned back to Eren, forcing his face to stop hurting enough to let his grin spread. "You think I'll ever fly again, Captain?" he teased, wincing when they stopped.

Rolling his eyes, Eren moved to lower the gate at the end of the cart. "Don't give me that death-bed humor," the brunette watched Armin try and fail to get up onto the cart. He heaved a sigh and quickly, despite the squawk of protest from the other, moved to lift him and help shimmy the blonde back onto the make-shift cushions of their supply rations.

"Of course, I can escape a tower," he winced, clamping a hand down over a particularly throbbing rib before lying back with a sigh. "But the height of carts still challenges me."

Armin grinned when that brought a loud and easy laugh to the brunette. Eren had climbed up after him, sitting among the burlap sacks of rice and hard as hell biscuits, smiling warmly down at the blonde. "You're an idiot, you know that?" Eren asked, shuffling a bit to find a comfier seat among the supplies.

"Me?!" Armin's eyes flew wide open as he stared back in shock. "After all of everything, all these years, all of the I'm going to kill every bloody titan I see!" Armin threw an arm up in exasperation, wincing before he let it fall back down. He shifted his small glare back to Eren, irked on a bit more to find the brunette chuckling. "I'm somehow the idiot?"

In response, Eren nodded. He cast a quick glance around their cart before leaning down to capture the blonde's lips and a swift kiss. "Yes, you are," he breathed, Armin closing his eyes with a sigh when he felt Eren sit up straight again. "If you didn't try to be a hero and shove me to the side, you wouldn't have been thrown the better part of a mile."

"If it's any consolation, it was worth it for the laugh?" the blonde piped up, cracking an eye open to smile up at Eren. He grinned when it brought another easy laugh from the brunette's chest; the deep kind that easily hypnotized him by the way it vibrated through to his core. His grin widened when Eren muttered, "You're still an idiot" and leaned in for another quick kiss before he made to climb out of the wagon and mount his horse tethered nearby. Leaning his head back, Armin stared up at the blue sky as he settled down against the sacks with a contented sigh.

Then I'll be there to make sure you see it all.

Author's Note:

Howdy! First time writing AoT stuff, please forgive if its a little questionable in some areas. My friend wanted a bed time story one night and well...one thing turned into another and WOWZA suddenly I have this beastie on my hands. Enjoy!

- Midnightmuse

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyokin/Attack on Titan. If I did, I would probably keel over from all the feels. ...I do that enough already just from reading the manga...