100 Prompts: Unconditional

Eremika

A/N: I had originally written everything, and then I got really conflicted as to where I should end it, so I just cut it and added a bonus/epilogue. Enjoy! Haha

Armin never quite understood how or why Mikasa was able to love Eren unconditionally.

He was a smart kid; he was able to analyze anything with great precision on the spot, and even predict outcomes of several potential situations, simultaneously, with ease. It was the reason he was held in such high regard in the military: his analytical skills were phenomenal.

But no matter which way he turned this around, he just could not seem to grasp why the young soldier was so inexplicably drawn to her object of affection. Yes, Eren cared about her, to put it simply. He was not a complete ass to her all the time (in his defense, he only snapped when she became too much to deal with). From what Armin has observed, the young man was no stranger to affection and friendship. He had feelings after all.

Through it all, she loved him the same.

Thing is, he has watched his best friend hurt her over and over again. Most of the time it was unintentional, but sometimes not. And most of the time it was just him being such a moody teenager, under way too much pressure, who snapped way too frequently for his own good.

Other times it was the reckless, selfish choices he made that ultimately affected her too. For example, he's seen Eren talk to other girls with such smooth charisma, as if his intentions were of sexual or flirtatious nature. He denied it, of course, but Armin didn't buy it at all, especially when it became harder to see things from his point of view, as he began to sympathize more with Mikasa.

Honestly, Armin was beginning to get tired of the way Eren was always so damn selfish. Does he even consider what she feels when he snaps at her and assumes that his apology in the form of changed behavior is sufficient? Does he think about how much it might sting when she watches him blatantly flirt with other girls?

Mikasa and Armin have dealt with his selfish ways for as long as they can remember, genuinely believing that his heart was in the right place, so it was only a matter of time before he came around. They have been on the same page on this since the beginning of time, but at some point, Armin began to think they were getting too old to just blindly follow and unconditionally love each other all the time.

He was especially getting fed up with the way Mikasa would get hurt time and again.

He found himself, one fine morning, watching Eren talk to Historia from across the mess hall. He smiled at her and maintained eye contact, and it almost made Armin sick when she touched his arm gently and he responded positively. Mikasa sat beside him, inspecting her gear with her head down. He knew she was just pretending she didn't see it.

"Mikasa," he began, treading the waters carefully, "can I ask you a question?"

"What's up, Armin?" she continued fiddling with her stuff, careful not to let her voice falter.

"I'm only talking to you about this because I care about you," he continued.

"Okay, what is it?"

"Why do you…" he hesitated, unsure of how to bring this up delicately without overstepping any boundaries or upsetting her in any way. Eventually, he settled for, "why do you do this to yourself?"

"What do you mean?"

"With Eren," he sighed. "Don't get me wrong, he's my best friend too, I get it. But it hurts doesn't it? It's not the first time, Mikasa."

He paused for a second, giving her a chance to answer his question. But when she said nothing, he continued, "I'm just worried about you. He acts so selfish all the time, and I don't think he quite understands that sometimes it's at your expense. You said it yourself back then too: he's always just leaving us behind. So why do you still tolerate it, when you and I both know you deserve so much better?"

"Ah," she seemed to be taking in everything he just said, because while she kept her eyes on her gear, her hands stopped moving. After a while, she spoke up, "I guess…despite the fact that he always just goes off to do this own stupid thing, I know he always comes back to me- to us. And given Eren's personality, don't you think that's something significant?"

"What do you mean?" Armin knew what she meant, he just wanted to hear her try to explain herself. Maybe she would hear how ridiculous she sounded this way.

"Eren just does what he believes is right. His thinking doesn't exactly revolve around any other factors; he's just such a free spirit," Mikasa looked up at Eren for the first time, and though she kept her usual exterior, Armin saw right through it. She just studied him for a moment before continuing, "so, the fact that he set us as his anchors to keep him grounded is quite significant if you think about it."

Armin remained quiet, a little shocked that she was able to assess the situation far better than he could. Then again, it was about Eren, and though that child was very transparent with his feelings, his motives were a little harder to read into.

"He's gotten much more popular around here since we started." She added, "so it's only natural that his social skills have improved."

"So? You don't think he may be, I don't know, mooching?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean if you think about it, he does always come back to us. He doesn't have to, though, like you said he's gotten more popular. He has other people he can go to now, but he sticks with us because of the familiarity. You don't think it's because he knows we'll be there for him no matter what, so he keeps stringing us along?"

"No, that's not like him," she told him gently, and it struck Armin as strange to see her remain calm about this rather than switching to defensive mode. "I don't think he's taking us for granted."

"How do you know, though? Besides, when was the last time you guys really talked?"

"Armin…" she looked at him, and he realizes he may have unintentionally backed her into a corner, whether or not she had a very valid and correct rebuttal to his argument. It wasn't his business to pry this far after all.

"I'm sorry, Mikasa, I'm just trying to play devil's advocate," he set a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and she tried to smile. " I want you to be happy, you know."

"Besides, you've been friends with Eren since way before I came along," she teased, "You should know he's just very one-track minded, and the fact that he always manages to return to us should say a little bit about what he finds important."

"Ah," Armin surrendered, though he felt more relief at his loss than anything. But then he remembered why he even brought this up in the first place, "but what about him flirting with other girls?"

"He's…" she trailed off, unable to explain this one.

"Mikasa." he sighed.

"He's just a people pleaser." was the only thing she could say about it, but she stood by it. Armin looked down, only about half convinced. She was so governed by emotions with him, it was ridiculous. But then she continued, "Look, Historia is being very forward with him, right?"

"Sure, and he's being encouraging about it."

"Okay," she shrugged, "but he's not initiating anything himself."

He looked up again to see that she was indeed right. Although he was leaning forward to engage in the conversation, upon closer inspection at his body language, Eren actually did keep a little distance. He kept his arms folded in front of him the whole time.

"I suppose you're right. I still don't like it though," he looks back as Eren laughs at something Historia said, and decided maybe he at least needs to give him a piece of his mind.

"Thank you, Armin," she cut off his thoughts, her voice soft and sincere. "I appreciate it."

He looked back at Mikasa's somber expression as she once again turned a blind eye to the situation, and it served as Armin's driving force to stand up, despite Mikasa's protests. But as soon as he gains the bold incentive to go over there and chew his friend out, he realizes Eren was already walking towards them.

He sat himself down beside Mikasa and handed her a few small screws, "Here, I got what you were looking for," he smiled at her, almost as if he was excited to bring something back to her after his adventures- almost like a puppy, Armin mused.

As Armin sat himself back down as well, Eren shifted in his seat to get more comfortable and rested his chin on her hair. Armin, brilliant as he is, just watched, still perplexed. It was much more complicated than it seemed. Maybe, that was just their dynamic, given his free spirit and her unfathomable need to be with and take care of him.

Maybe he needed her to be his anchor, and something he could always come back to- someone he trusted more than anyone else both physically and emotionally. Maybe he was just as attached to her as she was to him, he just showed it in a different way. Maybe it really was just in his nature to be a people-person, especially when it came to girls.

Maybe Eren considered Armin as one of his closest friends as well, but he just didn't quite get it as well as Mikasa did. Maybe she did know what she was doing after all.

"What's wrong?" Eren seemed to pick up on her disposition and he sat up.

"Mmm, nothing really," she lied. "This is just stressful. I need this fixed before Levi finishes cleaning so that he can train me. He'll be pissed if I'm not prepared."

The next thing Eren did only threw Armin into more confusion. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder gently and kissed the top of her forehead, "Relax, you'll be fine." She leaned into him, like she was used to it, like this wasn't the first time he displayed this type of affection to her. She seemed to relax immensely.

"Why don't you ask horse-face to help you?" he gestured to Jean, who was also tinkering with his gear at the opposite side of the room.

"Oh," she stood up, and Armin didn't miss the way his hand lingered on her even as she separated herself from him. "I didn't even see him there. Thanks, Eren."

As soon as she was out of earshot, he turned to his best friend and in the most stern tone he could muster, he asked, "Eren, what the fuck?"

Bonus:

"Huh?" it was the last thing the boy had expected.

"I don't understand you," he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Is there...is there a problem?"

Armin looked at him hard. If Mikasa was very rooted in her beliefs and she was so sure of what she was doing, Eren seemed to be the opposite. And this seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally give him a piece of his mind.

"First, you were clearly flirting with Historia right in front of us, and now you send Mikasa into the arms of another man, and one that loves her no less."

Eren looked appalled. When did Armin get this bold?

"What the hell, Armin?"

"I'm just saying," the blond sighed, "You really should be careful. I know you know she loves you, unconditionally, but you can't milk her feelings dry."

"I'm not." Eren defended. "And who told you she loves me?"

At this point, Armin decided it wasn't his place to continue butting in. As much as he cared about his best friends, at the end of the day, it was Mikasa's decision to stand by him, and Eren's choice to keep her close. He remained quiet and instead followed Eren's gaze to see Jean saying something, though it was out of earshot, and Mikasa laughed.

Armin snickered as he watched the Titan boy's eyebrows come together at the sight. "Whatever you say, Eren."