Because I Like You

Armin Arlert was widely known for his intelligence. He's the one that everyone turned to when a strategy was needed. So why, Armin often pondered, is he having so much trouble figuring out this developing feeling that causes his heart to flutter?

The small boy sat under a tree, lost in thought rather than lost in his book. "Why do I feel like this? I don't get it… I don't have time to feel like this, but…" He jumped suddenly at the sound of two males laughing. He has grown quite familiar with this sound because it came from his best friend and his best friend's boyfriend.

Eren and Corporal Rivaille moved away from their terribly-hidden rendezvous point, laughing as they fell to the ground. Armin watched as Levi clumsily pressed his index finger to Eren's lips in a sorry attempt to quiet him. He paid particular attention to their facial expressions, closely watching as Corporal Rivaille's changed from aggravated to amused in an instant. He noticed the way Eren's arms tightened around Corporal Rivaille when they kissed. It was as if Eren treated every kiss like the last.

"So, that's what love looks like…" Armin closed his book and stood up. He planned to quietly sneak away unnoticed; however, the Corporal is very sharp. He never fails to notice something, even while engaged in romantic activity.

"Armin!" Armin stopped and sighed as he waited for the running footsteps to reach him. "How long have you been here?" Eren slapped his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"He's been here the whole time," Rivaille noted while reaching up to pull a few leafs away that were tangled in Eren's hair.

"Why didn't you say something?" Eren's voice became panicked.

"It's fine. I'm not mad or anything. I was actually hoping to leave before you two noticed me. Sorry. I wasn't trying to intrude on your business." Armin stepped away from Eren's light grasp on his shoulder.

"No! We are sorry that you had to witness that," Eren yelled frantically.

"Oh, Eren…" Rivaille slid his arm around Eren's waist, jerking the taller boy towards him. "You sound embarrassed about us." He cupped Eren's chin and directed his face towards his, showing his overly-emphasized pout.

"Well…No…It's…It's just that Armin…" Eren's words were cut off by Rivaille's lips.

"It's fine! Really!" Armin waved his hands in front of his face. "I've known about you two for a while now, so it doesn't bother me! Honest!" Armin decided that now, while Eren and Corporal Rivaille were focused only on the passionate kiss they were sharing, was his best chance to sneak away. Unfortunately, he was quickly stopped by a hand landing on the top of his head.

Rivaille fastened his grip on Armin's head and began to speak between kisses. "Armin, you are a really great kid, so don't worry."

"Worry?" Armin let his head be forced to turn to the Corporal.

"I can see it in your eyes, kid. You wish to experience love."

"Huh?" Eren gently pulled away from Rivaille and looked at his friend.

"I…Uh…" Armin dropped his gaze to his hands, clenching his fingers around his book.

"Just trust me, Armin. It will happen." With that being said, Rivaille released his grip on Armin's head and watched as Armin ran away.

"Is he really in love with someone," Eren asked.

"Yes." Rivaille grabbed Eren's hand and started walking.

"What? You've know who it was this entire time and you haven't told me!?" Eren abruptly stopped walking and pulled Rivaille's arm until he turned around.

"I never said I knew who it was," Rivaille began walking again, "But, I have an idea."

Armin's heart burned in his chest as he forced his small body to run faster and faster. "Am I that obvious!? No! I can't be! I don't show any sort of romantic interest towards anybody! The Corporal is just throwing out assumptions! He's…" "Ow!" Armin flew backwards and landed hard on his back.

"Armin! Crap, I'm sorry! Are you okay?!" Jean Kirschtein knelt down beside his comrade.

"J-Jean!" Armin quickly sat up, regretting it as soon as he did. "Ugh…" He pressed his palm against his head.

"Did you hit your head?" Jean moved Armin's hand and gasped at the sight of his blood. "H-How are you bleeding? Seriously!?" Jean moved Armin's hand back to the wound.

"I guess the impact was harder than I thought." Armin watched as Jean began tearing the sleeve of his shirt. "You don't have to…"

"Shut up." Jean took the torn sleeve and handed it to Armin. Armin stared at the torn cloth lying in his hand. "You have to put it over the wound and apply pressure you idiot!"

"R-Right!" Armin quickly did just that then stood up.

"Can you walk?" Jean bent down to pick up Armin's book.

"Uh...Yea…" Armin lifted his leg then staggered. Jean dropped the book and rushed to grab Armin before he hit the ground, just barely making it in time.

"You are so weak!" Jean hoisted Armin onto his back then easily bent down to pick up his book. "I mean, all you did was run into me. It's not like I'm some brick wall or something."

"I'm sorry…" Armin looked down.

"Ah, geeze. Don't go and apologize for it. Hey, why were you running so fast anyway?"

Armin felt his face reddening. "I…Uh…" "What do I say?" "I remembered that I had promised Mikasa that I would join her for lunch!"

"Mikasa, huh?" Jean's thoughts drifted away to the beautiful girl.

"That's right…He likes her…It's only natural for him to. She is really pretty, but…" Armin sighed.

"You okay?" Jean glanced back at his friend.

"Yea," Armin mumbled.

The two boys remained silent the rest of the way. Once in town, Jean dropped Armin off at his room and bumped into Mikasa on the way out.

"H-Hey, Mikasa." Jean laughed nervously and ran his hand through his hair. "Stop stuttering!"

"Hi." Mikasa barely turned to look at the hopeful boy. "What happened to your shirt?"

"Oh, Armin ran into me and hit his head on the ground and started bleeding, so I tore off my sleeve to help stop the blood." Jean watched as Mikasa's body tensed. "But, don't worry! He's fine!" Jean leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

"Thank you for helping him." Mikasa, without so much as a glance back, ran to Armin's room.

"Don't mention it," Jean sighed to the empty hallway.

"Armin! Are you okay?" Mikasa ran towards the pale boy lying in bed.

"Mi-Mikasa." He looked up at her, his vision somewhat hazy.

"You don't have to talk." Mikasa moved to sit down on the edge of Armin's bed. "But, why were you running? Was someone after you?"

"What? No!" Armin pressed his palms against his eyes. "I hate being weak. Everyone automatically treats me like a child…I need to become stronger. I need to train. I can't hide behind books forever."

"Armin?" Mikasa looked at her injured friend with worry written all over her face.

"Can I ask you something?" Armin dropped his hands, blinking to try and clear his vision.

"You need something? Water? Medicine?"

"Do you like Jean?" Armin watched the disgust grow on her face.

"Why would you ask that?" She clenched her fists.

"Right. You like Eren." Armin's head began pounding.

"He-He's family!" Mikasa turned away to hide her blush.

"Yea." Armin rolled over so that his back was facing Mikasa. "I wonder is Jean knows that the odds of being in a relationship with Mikasa are low…?" "I'm going to try and get some sleep." He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to ignore the piercing headache.

"All right." Mikasa slid off the bed and left the room.

"Ugh." Armin groaned and blinked against the blinding sunlight streaming in from his window. Next to his window stood a figure leaning against the wall. "Jean!?" Armin sat up and looked at his comrade. "What are you doing here?"

"How are you feeling?" Jean brought his gaze to the disheveled-looking boy.

"I'm…I'm fine, but what are you doing here? Were you worried about me?"

"Tch," Jean pushed himself off the wall and strolled over to the small boy, "I have a proposition for you, Armin."

"Huh? What is it?" Armin brushed his fine hair away from his eyes to get a better view of his friend.

"You're weak. But, if you train with me, I can make you stronger."

"And in return?" Armin noticed that he finally felt clear and focused again.

"I want you to help me get with Mikasa." Jean met Armin's shocked eyes.

"What!? I can't! Mikasa doesn't like him like that! But, I need to become stronger! What do I say? Think Armin! Accepting his proposition while already knowing that he won't have a good outcome would make me a terrible person. On the other hand, training with him would make me stronger, and I would get to spend more time with him… All right." "I've thought about it."

"I can see that. You always have this certain look about you when you are lost in thought."

"I accept your proposition." "I will wait for the right time to tell him the truth."

"Excellent. Can you start training today?" Jean looked at Armin's concerned expression. "Look, if you can't today that's fine."

"What!? No! I can start today! I feel fine!" Armin hopped out of bed and shooed Jean out of his room so he could change.

"You have a small build, but we can use that to our advantage." Jean paced around Armin, pointing out all of his features. "Running will help increase your stamina, and once we have increased your stamina, we can work on your speed. Speed is a huge benefit to smaller bodies. Once your speed is increased, we can work on your skill. We will have to work on those tiny arm muscles also." Jean lifted up Armin's lanky arm then let it go, watching it fall loosely.

"So, we will be running?" Armin looked up at his new trainer.

"Yep. A lot of running. You up for it?" Jean gasped at the determination burning in his new student's eyes.

"Let's go!" Armin took off running, easily becoming surprised at how quickly Jean caught up to him.

The two boys ran for hours, only stopping for brief water breaks. Armin did his best to ignore the guilt that was constantly prodding at him. Jean did his best to have faith that Armin could somehow get Mikasa off of this Eren-obsessed train.

"Drop and give me twenty!" Jean yelled after their fourth straight hour of running. Armin didn't argue. He quickly dropped to the ground and struggled through the push-ups. "This kid really has some crazy determination."

"Nineteen, twenty!" Armin barely made it through his last push-up before collapsing. He lied on the ground panting but managed to force himself into a sitting position when he heard Jean's footsteps approaching.

"You've done really well." Jean sat down beside Armin and handed him a full canteen.

"Thanks," Armin said through gasping breaths. He took a long swig from the canteen, welcoming the cold water that dribbled down his chin.

"I may have underestimated you a little." Jean stretched and lied back.

"Really?!" Armin turned his body towards Jean. The only thing that was stopping him from jumping around in excitement was his sore muscles.

"Yea. I thought for sure that you would drop after the first hour of running." Jean looked at the huge grin plastered across Armin's face. "Tch, this guy. He should be on the verge of passing out and yet here he is. Grinning like an idiot." Jean let his eyes linger on Armin's ecstatic face for a few seconds more. "Hmmph. He better keep his end of the deal." Jean sighed and stood up, pulling Armin up with him. "Let's go. That's enough for today. You should go and rest because we are gonna do this all over again tomorrow."

"Right!" Armin brushed his sweat-dripping hair away from his eyes, aware that Jean was trying to be discreet about watching him. "I'm going to run over to the dining hall!"

"You don't have to run anymore."

"Race you!" Armin shot forward, running full speed.

"Seriously…?" Jean grumbled and began running after him.

"I have to hand it to you, Armin. You got pretty close to winning." Jean watched at the small boy leaned against a wall, panting.

"Y-Yea." Armin began taking deep breaths to try and calm his racing heart. After a few moments, he hobbled into the dining hall, with Jean following close behind.

"Armin!" Eren gasped at the state of his friend. Armin's face was still flushed and he was still short on breath. Sweat dripped down his forehead and fell onto the table. Jean appeared moments later with two plates. He set one in front of Armin then casually sat down beside him. "What's going on here?" Eren slammed his hand down on the table.

"Eren, Calm down! Jean's training me!"

"Why did you ask him to train you and not me?" Eren shot a dirty glance towards Jean before looking back to his exhausted friend.

"I told him I would do it." Jean took a bite of his biscuit.

"Why?" Eren didn't try to keep his voice from sounding skeptical.

"Just cause." Jean sighed and stood up. "Same time tomorrow Armin." He grabbed his plate and left.

"Eren! Why were you being so mean to him!?" Armin turned to watch Jean leave the dining hall.

"You know he and I don't get along that well." Eren grumbled and took a bite of his biscuit.

"Yes, because you two are both hot-headed." Armin stood up. "I'm exhausted. I'm going to go to sleep." He slid his plate over to Sasha then exited the dining hall.

Eren rested his head in his hands and sighed. He was trying to process everything when he was interrupted by a faint tapping sound. He peered over to the nearest window and smiled. Rivaille was gesturing for him to come outside. "You are so bad, Levi! It's like you want to get us caught!" Eren laughed quietly to himself before quickly hopping off the bench and racing outside.

The next few weeks flew by. Every morning Jean and Armin would rise at dawn and train for the majority of the day. Armin began to notice small differences in Jean's actions towards him. After their third practice, Jean stayed and ate dinner with him. After their fifth practice, Jean playfully initiated a water fight between the two. After their ninth practice, Jean massaged Armin's throbbing legs while praising him for his hard work. But, the most surprising difference, to Armin, was after their sixteenth practice. The two walked together to the dining hall and sat down at their usual table. Shortly after, they were joined by Eren, like always, and Mikasa. Mikasa has been busy with the Scouting Legion, so she has been absent for quite a while. This is the first dinner that the four shared together.

"Hello." Mikasa sat down beside Eren, across from Jean.

"It's been a while, Mikasa. How are you? How are things with the Scouting Legion?" Eren started hounding his childhood friend with questions. Mikasa enjoyed the attention from Eren and answered all the questions happily. Armin knew he needed to sneak a glance at Jean to see how he was reacting to Mikasa presence. To his surprise, he was greeted by Jean's eyes when he finally decided to shift his eyes over to him.

"He's looking at me!? How long has he been watching me!?" Armin gasped as Jean stretched his long arm across the back of his chair. "What is he doing!? I thought that he would surely be trying to impress Mikasa. Yet, it seems like he's only interested in me!" Armin felt a blush creeping up his cheeks so he quickly looked down in attempt to hide it. He heard Jean chuckle softly beside him. He decided he would try to sneak another peek at Jean. When he looked up, Jean was watching him with a lazy sideways smile. Armin jumped slightly and looked back down. "He really is watching me."

"Did I miss something?" Mikasa's voice brought Armin back from his thoughts.

"What do you mean?" Armin silently prayed that his blushing cheeks were fading away.

"You two seem really casual." Mikasa moved her head to Jean then to Armin.

"Ha. Do we?" Jean smiled down at Armin then stood up, resting his hand on Armin's shoulder. He gave his shoulder a tight squeeze. "I guess we do." He turned away. "Later," he called over his shoulder.

"I should get going too!" Armin flew off the bench and ran after Jean.

"What the hell?" Mikasa looked to a shrugging Eren.

"Jean's been training him. When I asked him why, he said 'Just cause.'" Mikasa sighed and began picking at her food.

"What's wrong, Jean?" Armin yelled over his shoulder. The two were racing and he was a considerable distance ahead of his trainer. "I'm going to win!" Armin began pumping his arms faster and lifting his legs faster. Jean was having trouble keeping up. He knew he was pushing himself harder than he ever has, but he still couldn't shorten the distance between he and Armin.

"Shit!" He watched as Armin gained speed and ran to the finish line.

"I won!" Armin began jumping up and down, waving his arms around in the air. A few seconds later, Jean finally ran to the finish line, two trees across from each other. He knelt down panting. "Did you see that? That was the fastest I have ever ran!" Armin walked over to his gasping trainer and handed him his canteen. Jean drank for a long time before looking up at Armin.

"He really did it. He doesn't even look tired. He looks like he could run for days without dropping." Jean watched as Armin stood there with his arms crossed, smiling. "You did it, Armin. You beat me." Jean collapsed onto his back. Armin sauntered over and lied down next to him. "You didn't just beat me in speed, Armin. You beat me in stamina, too." Jean was still struggling to collect his breath.

"It's because I have a good trainer." Armin smiled and looked up to the sunset. "He's done his end of the deal. He hasn't said a single thing about my end of the deal…" "Um, Jean? About the deal…"

"Forget about it." Jean cut him off. Armin sat up on one arm and peered down at the panting boy.

"What?"

"Just forget about it, okay?" Jean sighed and threw his arm over his eyes.

"But, why?" "He knows…"

"Because I know that Mikasa will never like me."

"Jean…" Armin inched closer to his friend.

"It doesn't matter, anyway. I'm not interested in her anymore."

"Huh!? You're not!?" Armin gasped.

"No…" Jean felt Armin gently move his arm away from his eyes. "I'm…" Jean pushed himself up and planted his lips on Armin's. Armin froze. He watched with wide eyes as Jean pressed his lips against his. He shuddered as Jean ran his hand up his back, stopping at his neck.

"Move Armin!" Armin shut his eyes and returned the kiss. He felt his hand pushing Jean onto his back. "What am I doing? I don't know what to do!" He guided his hands under Jean's shirt, slowly sliding them up across his stomach. After a moment, Jean pulled away from the kiss and wrapped his arm around Armin, easing him down onto his stomach. Armin rested his head on Jean's chest and listened to his rapid heartbeat.

"You kissed me." Armin tried not to sound panicked.

"I did." Jean replied calmly.

"W-Why?" Armin gasped as he felt Jean tighten his arms around him.

Jean gently kissed the top of Armin's head and smiled. "Because I like you."

"Well isn't this sweet." Rivaille approached the scene with a reluctant Eren in tow.

"Gah!" Jean threw Armin off of him and jumped up.

"Ow!" Armin stumbled over, rubbing his arm. "It's ok, Jean."

"What!?" Jean looked between the three frantically. Rivaille strolled to stand directly in front of Jean. He reached up and stroked his cheek, causing the taller boy to blush.

"I'll keep your secret if you keep mine." Rivaille moved his hand down Jean's chest.

"Y-Your secret!?" Jean backed away from his superior.

Rivaille moved to Eren and stood on his toes, smacking his lips hard against Eren's. Eren tightly wrapped his arms around Rivaille and lifted him up. Jean and Armin stood and watched as the two made out for a good five minutes, before the Corporal finally broke away.

"My secret." Rivaille placed his hand on his boyfriend's chest.

"O-Okay! You're secret is safe with me!" Jean gulped and stepped back a little further. He calmed down slightly when Armin grabbed his hand, lacing his small fingers between Jean's large ones.

"Let's go, Eren." Rivaille began walking away.

"Jean." Eren met Jean's eyes.

"What?" Jean cocked his eyebrow.

"You better not hurt Armin. If you do, I might have to kill you." Eren's blue-green eyes shot daggers at Jean.

"He won't hurt me. I trust him." Armin squeezed Jean's hand and smiled.

"Armin." Rivaille turned around to face him. "I told you." With that being said, he yelled for Eren to hurry up and continued walking away. Eren shot one last glance to Jean before running after the Corporal.

"What's the Corporal talking about?" Jean looked down at Armin. Armin looked up at the sky and smiled.

"He told me that I would experience love one day." Armin laughed as Jean scooped him up and lightly brushed his lips against his.

Well that was a lot longer than I intended, but I had a lot of fun writing it! Sorry in advance for any grammar errors! Hope everyone likes it! :)