Night Changes

"Hallo! Hallo! Ohh that tickles- okay, oh-." The children surrounded Hermione, curious about her dark skin and even darker cloud of hair.

"Oh-" They pulled her into a shaded area to further ogle her in comfort and he felt a part of him mourn at the loss of seeing her skin bathed in the sunlight.

She happened to be wearing a dress again. A yellow one that complimented her complexion beautifully. It was a long-sleeved dress- to, likely, hide the scar on her forearm- but it still bared her shoulders and he maybe, not-so-secretly, enjoyed seeing her in it.

He watched as she kneeled down to play with them, however, that just gave the children a better vantage point to touch her skin and hair.

She giggled as a little girl named Lena began comparing their hands.

Armin grinned at the sound, then looked to the grassy expanse that stretched on for what seemed like leagues.

He breathed in the peaceful atmosphere.

After a month of constant travel and labor, he was spent and was glad to finally be back. Though- he was not as spent as he could be.

All that tedious manual labor would have been much more unbearable had Hermione not assisted.

And as a show of good faith for all her hard work, and for those couple days of blood loss induced bed rest- Squad Levi was allowed to escort her outside the base to the Orphanage.

Ever since he'd mentioned the Orphanage to her, and how many of the Scouts went there to work or spend their days off... she alluded to wanting to go as well.

Seeing how being cooped up in her room was mentally killing her, and then how straining to prove herself with the rebuilding was actually killing her led him to suggest this olive branch to Commander Erwin, and surprisingly, he agreed.

"She's beautiful, is she not," he looked down to find a smirking Historia.

He gave the question some thought, wanting to be careful with his words. It was undeniable to him, of course, but his answer could be damning depending on Hermione's true alliances.

And... well- sometimes, admitting your feelings could be... quite embarrassing.

"Mm," he slightly nodded, "but I'd think anyone would agree," he answered in a tone that was meant to end the conversation.

But Historia wasn't one to shy away from these sorts of things, "But you more so, correct?"

He blushed involuntarily, "M-maybe."

He looked back at Hermione. Despite their obvious intrusion of boundaries, she smiled at the kids, even chuckling at their antics.

"Guten Tag, ich bin Hermione- Oder kurz Mia," she placed a palm on her chest to make it easier for them to interpret her accented words. A chorus of Guten tags and Hallo Mia's could be heard in response.

Armin smiled.

She began asking all the children their names and he could tell she had already committed them to memory.

"Oi! Brats. Stop staring and start working. We can't all be here for fun."

"Yes Captain," they hurriedly moved towards the hay that was to be brought to the stables.

"I don't know why you still refer to him as Captain, Historia. You are his queen after all."

She shrugged, "Habit, I guess- and respect."

"Well, the Captain obviously doesn't mind," he looked back at the Captain awkwardly patting a boy's head.

"Mm," Historia threw a bale on her shoulder, "You know, he has seemed to be in a good mood lately..."

"I think he's just relieved about the operation to retake Wall Maria... He probably assumed we'd see more casualties than we actually did," he bore a bale on each shoulder.

They began walking to the stables, closer to where Hermione sat with the orphans.

"And that's partly due to the witch, yes?"

He nodded, "Yes... Hermione was a huge help to us- of course, we can't be perfectly sure why."

"Well, for all our sakes- I hope she is on our side," she gave him a knowing look.

Oh, I know, I know. I like her- no need to be so sly about it.

He chose to ignore the look and kept his eyes on the path, "I hope so too..."

"Armin! Historia! Place them over here!"

"Just a moment, Sasha," they finally reached the end of the stables, setting down their hay in a pile adjacent to the wall.

"We won't need to do too much today, the locals and other Scouts have been doing a great job at maintaining the Orphanage," Jean clapped off some of the dirt from his hands.

"That's good. I just wanna take it easy today," Connie wiped some sweat off his forehead, "Who knew construction work was so hard?"

"Construction workers," everyone deadpanned.

"Huh," he furrowed his eyebrows, but then his eyes widened, "Oi, Sasha where do you think you're going."

She stopped dead in her tracks. Sasha puffed her cheeks, red-handed, "I was gonna ask Hermione for some candy."

"Awe, c'mon. You know she's not going to give you any anytime soon- not after you tried to steal some last time."

Armin agreed with Jean, "You know, she would've happily shared some more if you'd just asked."

Sasha pouted, "Not the whole stash though."

Armin shook his head fondly.

Historia chuckled, "Sasha tried stealing candy... from a witch...? Sounds bizarre, doesn't it?"

Armin smiled, thinking of the very witch of which she mentioned, "Well, everything's been a bit bizarre lately, hasn't it?"

Everyone vehemently agreed.

"Oh. Hey Mikasa, hey Eren- uh- is Mikasa carrying your sack of grains?" Connie greeted them.

Mikasa walked past them to drop the bags while Eren stopped to stand by Armin's side.

"Mm. She won't let me carry anything so that I can heal," he answered mechanically.

Normally, Eren would be furious to be treated this way... or at the very least, annoyed.

Either he's starting to appreciate Mikasa's coddling... or... he doesn't care...

"Uh- o-okay..."

Everyone could tell something was different with Eren, but no one could exactly pinpoint why... though, they could pinpoint the when.

The Medal Ceremony...

Something about kissing Historia's hand had changed him... but it didn't seem like anything romantic (and it's not like Historia would reciprocate)... it was something else...

There were whispers of it being Hermione's doing, but to Armin, that was absurd.

Even if they hadn't known the extent of Hermione's powers, the spell surely would've loosened its hold when she was bedridden. He knew for sure that the "old Eren'' would have come back in a heartbeat.

Because he knew Eren- he would never stop fighting for his freedom, especially from within his own mind.

No- this was something entirely different, this was to do with Titan memories... it had to be. Seeing his father's memories took a toll on him, sure... but Armin suspected it was because of what he had seen when he had touched a person with royal blood.

But he couldn't be sure... especially with Eren's newfound skills at deflection… He was definitely hiding the answer from them...

Armin sighed.

He believed Eren would tell them eventually... he had to, they-

-wait... something was off.

"Where's Sasha?"

Jean groaned, "Hey Sasha! Come back here! We're not done yet!"

Poor Hermione.

They all ran out to collect Sasha when they heard Hermione shout.

They exited the stables to find Hermione being manhandled by Sasha, bear hugging her lifted form from behind.

"Oh, thank Merlin- go watch the kids! They're playing with a paper bird- Sasha! I think they'll be f-fi-" She giggled, "Sasha stop that- I'm ticklish. Sash-" she broke off the scold to end with a laugh.

As most of the others went to go check on the kids, Armin giggled at the sight before him. She looks so good like this- joyful and healthy, full of smiles- and he loved her smiles.

"I don't have any candy for you, Sasha!"

He could practically hear Mikasa's eye roll, "Just let her go, Sasha."

"Yes, thank you Mikasa," Hermione said defeatedly.

"No way, I need that candy," Sasha raved, shaking Hermione some more.

Deciding to be merciful, "Oh c'mon Sasha, let Hermione go," he grinned.

She stopped shaking Hermione to smirk, "Oh? So what? So you can hold her instead?"

Hermione balked.

He shrugged, unperturbed, "Maybe- but we won't know until you let her go."

Her eyes darkened comically, "Are you challenging me, Arlert?"

He mimicked her, "Maybe, Braus," he replied in a low tone.

"Okay, okay. No. We are not doing this."

"Are you sure you want to take this route, Braus?"

Hermione looked equal parts amused and horrified- what a combination, "Not you too, Mikasa!"

"Let the lazy ass go, Sasha."

He knew it was coming before it happened.

After Hermione had healed from her stress-induced injury, she had taken to teasing Captain Levi nonstop about his care for her.

She was relentless and he admired her bravery.

As she was dropped to her feet she exclaimed, "Oh thank you, Uncle Levi!"

Armin flinched, still unused to the amount of casualness directed at the Captain by someone that was not his senior.

Mikasa smirked, overjoyed with Hermione's treatment towards Captain Levi.

"Tch, useless brat," he turned away to escape the demon that was Hermione's affection.

Hermione only proudly strode behind Mikasa and Armin, her short stature dwarfed by their taller forms. She stayed a step behind them as she linked an arm through each of theirs.

He craned his neck to watch as she brought two fingers from her arm linked with Mikasa's to her eyes then pointed them at Sasha, gesturing that she was "keeping an eye on her".

Cute.

"Let's go back to the kids. That paper bird can't hold them for much longer- at least I don't think it will..."

"Hermione!" Sasha whined.

"If you're a good girl," she called out behind her, the three of them already on their way to the children.

They stopped a while away to watch as Connie, Eren, and Jean tried to entertain the children... to no avail. Well- he had to give Connie credit... he was doing much better with them than Eren and Jean.

"Hallo Mia!" A boy named Lutz ran towards them.

"Hallo, Lutz."

"Can you make another bird, Mia? Can you make a hundred? Oh please, please, please, please, please," they squealed excitedly.

She gave Lutz a smile while she thought.

"I can do you one better," she left their linked arms to beckon the children towards them.

She brought a finger over her smiling lips in an effort to calm them down. "This is something very special to me. Do you want to see?"

Special?

A chorus of enthusiastic "JA's!" spread across the crowd.

"Alright, watch very carefully," she closed her eyes and held her wand close to her chest. She pointed the wand in the air and spoke a spell in a language she called "Latin".

It sounded snappy, but with the soft way she said it- okay Armin, enough with the reverence.

He watched, awed, as a wispy dog-like creature appeared from her wand.

Now this was magic.

It danced around their heads, flipping and floating, weaving through the crowd. The kids ran to try and chase it, jumping and rolling with the creature in joy.

They were suddenly dog piled by a number of children when the creature came to dance around his head instead.

He laughed as it went to muzzle his cheek and was surprised to find that he could actually feel the push of the creature's face against his.

He looked on as it hopped on Hermione's shoulders to wrap around her neck. He looked down at Hermione, his grin was impossibly wide.

Her eyes were lit in the same way they were when she described Shakespeare or her favorite book or her latest idea- they were warm and lively and to see it on her as she performed magic was almost magical In itself.

Because this was the first time he had seen her so happy about using magic, and she truly wore the look well.

He forced himself to shift his attention back to her creation, the source of such a momentous feat. He watched as it almost... swam towards Mikasa, moving quite fluidly despite being in the air.

Mikasa gracefully allowed the creature to rest on her shoulders before it ventured off to lead the children in another chase.

"Magic meat?!"

He turned to watch as Sasha ran towards the creature.

"Sasha, no!"

It would be another hour before they would have all the work finished- longer than anticipated with all the hysterics distracting them from getting their jobs done.

And with all those frenzied antics to occupy him, he had never gotten the time to ask Hermione about the spell.

It was only later, when Hermione had asked to join him on his last task, that they had finally gotten to discuss what had happened earlier that day.

When Armin finished she pulled him into her arms, cheek pressed against his chest, "What did you think, Meer?"

She had taken to calling him the sea in Eldian, an appropriate nickname if anything. Though, she did seem to keep the name to themselves- which he didn't mind.

In return, he had taken to calling her Mond- though he liked to call her Mondlein in secret. She always asked why he called her the moon, but he could never articulate exactly why when asked.

I'd probably scare her away if I did...

"I thought it was wonderful, Mond. Truly wonderful," he held the cheek not pressed against his chest. "What was it exactly?"

"A manifestation of my happiness- in the form of an otter of course."

Of course it was- no wonder she looked as happy as she did.

"An ah-tah?"

She giggled into his chest, "Think... "water weasel"."

"I see... it did seem to splash around somehow..."

"Yes, my Patronus is very ingenuitive." She ran her hands up and down his back distractingly.

"Y-you call it a... pah- tro- nus?"

"Mm, a Patronus usually wards off these beings called dementors- which are basically soul-sucking, sadness demons- if that makes sense?" She didn't seem to be aware of the movement of her hands- lost in assuring the accuracy of her response.

"S-sure," he played with the ends of her curls, equally lost in the illusion of their union.

"Well, the spell calls forth a Patronus that changes depending on personality. Mine is an otter, my friend's is a s-sta-" she broke off into a half giggle, half squeal as he unknowingly brushed against the side of her waist.

Oh?

He smirked down at her, "That reminds me..." He tightened the hold on her hips, "You mentioned being... ticklish?"

Hermione pulled away to look at his face, "appalled". She fake gasped, "Now, where did you hear such a thing." She shook her head, "No, no of course not."

"Are you sure? So you wouldn't mind if I ran a test of my own? Just to be sure?" He ghosted his fingers over her waist.

"I-" She tried to stifle the giggle that escaped her throat, "I think you'd find the endeavor quite fruitless," she couldn't help but let her sentence devolve into laughter.

He tickled her further, "Yeah?"

She held him tighter- a poor attempt at protecting herself from his tickling assault, "Y-ye-" she laughed into his sternal notch.

He enjoyed the way her voice vibrated against the base of his neck, the way her hands fisted the back of his shirt, and the way her curls would brush against the hands on her waist and the bottom of his chin.

"A-Armin!"

He blushed at the way she gasped his name- it seemed very reminiscent of a different kind of gasp- a gasp he'd tried not to think about in the middle of the night.

"Sa-Sasha was right-" she tried catching her breath, and he could feel her every curve flushed against him.

"You just wanted to get your grubby little paws on me," she grinned knowingly.

Armin brought his hand to play with the curls near her neck, "Such accusations..."

He let the hand rest on her cheek, "They're right of course."

Hermione raised a playful brow, "Oh?"

He stared at the way her full lips rounded to make the sound.

"Mm."

He leaned down in a moment of weakness, "May I-"

"Armin!"

They jumped at the call and reluctantly pulled away from each other.

"Are you in there? Yeah, Captain needs you to see something before we leave."

Sure he does...

And though her hands lingered on his form, she looked away, "Maybe another time..."

His hands fell to his side, "Yeah... maybe..."

But he knew they would scarcely find another time like this- a time where both of them could forget that she was technically still their "internee", that, inevitably, she would be going back home...

And that an actual relationship would negatively impact Hermione's ability to be trusted- something she needed in order to return to her world...

Armin sighed internally as he gave Hermione a sincere farewell which she returned before he left to meet Captain Levi.

As of now, they still had plausible deniability, but if anything happened... neither of them would be able to hide that from their friends... and they, in turn, could not hide that from their superiors...

How frustrating...

To most, they were just abnormally close... as the general population of Scouts knew Armin for being dutiful and responsible, and they couldn't possibly fathom the idea that he would let his feelings obstruct any decision concerning the lives of his friends.

He looked back at Hermione, only to see her jogging towards him.

And just as he was about to tell her off for running- she's supposed to be taking it easy-

"Armin-" She pulled him down by his collar and kissed the corner of his lips, "Thank you for bringing me here."

She smiled at him with an appreciation seldom given to him in this particular way- one he knew he'd cherish forever.

He felt his cheeks scald and he just knew they were bright red. But before she could pull away, he looked into her eyes and held one of her hands to his chest, "It was my pleasure, Mond, truly."

He turned back around, willing his heart to slow and for his face to pale.

Armin sighed.

He had asked himself this so many times- were his feelings getting in the way?

They might be.

He cleared his throat in an attempt to hide his affection and had a feeling he was biting off way more than he could chew.

—

He had finally gotten time to leave for the Stohess District, though, he was still sorry to leave Hermione alone for a day or two to do it.

But he couldn't change that now. No, this was something that he needed to do, and he needed to do it alone.

He greeted Hitch on his way in, a simple nod in their direction.

They had already gone through that ritual a couple times before, more out of curiosity than anything else- curiosity not only for the girl he liked but for the material she had now been entrapped in.

He sighed as he stood in the middle of the cold chamber holding her frozen body.

He'd visited with Hange and a few other Military scientists to crack the code of Annie's hardening skin.

But now, after seeing her in Berthold's memories, he just wanted to talk.

"Hello, Annie."

No answer... as expected.

"I guess I came here alone today to... to just talk to you- with you?" He sighed, "Just- there'll be no experiments today, only listening," Armin examined Annie through the crystal. Was she listening?

Was her mind awake in that thing? And did it truly matter at this point?

Maybe not, but I'm here so...

He scrutinized her face through the hardening material. She was the same as always, never changing when out here, everything had.

"A lot has happened since I've last been. A lot..." he looked to the side in shame. He took a long pause to finalize his thoughts.

"I- one of your comrades- Berthold," he choked out the name, the guilt and shame of eating him alive collecting all in his throat.

"Berthold's gone... He's gone because of me. I just thought I should let you know."

He shut his eyes tight, "I'm sorry."

He opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling, "...at least Reiner got away... He's probably deep within Marley by now..."

He let the moment linger.

"Marley must have been the worst, Annie- to live under such conditions..."

He looked back at her, "It must've been hell, truly."

"But I can't say which hell was worse- your's or our's... I guess it'd be foolish to try and compare."

"But the Warrior training? The help from your father? I understand why you were so good now," he chuckled despondently.

"I think I understand you a bit better, Annie... finally, I do."

He sighed. I hope I do.

He brought his head back, "So much has changed. Everything seems different- everything is different... but it's always been this way, hasn't it Annie? And you knew, you always knew."

She knew about Marley and the world outside the walls, and almost every other bombshell dropped on them these past few months.

And yet, he wouldn't be surprised if Annie knew about this too.

He chuckled, thinking of one of the most glaring corroborations to her story- the fact that neither Armin nor Eren had found any evidence of witches outside the walls.

"There's also this girl... she claims to be from another world- crazy, isn't it?"

He waited a beat but felt crazy, himself, at the action.

"... but I believe her, I really do," he played with his hands to relieve some of his nervous energy.

"And I don't know if that's the infatuation talking or my intuition..."

"But with you... I-"

He sighed.

"It was easier... why was it easier?"

He remembered the way he manipulated her feelings for him that day... he remembered telling her he wouldn't think she was a good person if she didn't help them...

I could separate my feelings from my duty then...

So why can't I do that now?

"And you liked me too. Didn't you, Annie?" He looked up at her sleeping face.

He remembered the way she left him alive on that field, the way she followed him to "help Eren escape" even though she knew he was lying.

"Well, she likes me too..."

Then what's so different? Why is it that my feelings have been obstructing me from my duty?

"I am... unbelievably confused," he chuckled to himself in an almost self-deprecating way, "That doesn't seem very like me, does it?"

When he was, again, met with no answer he sighed, "I suppose not."

...

"It's true... it's true that she hasn't given us much to suspect her on. She's done nothing but be... kind of perfect. But that's the thing... she's too perfect."

He closed his eyes, "She's kind, incredibly intelligent, works herself to death for us... literally," he said that last part bitterly.

"Sh-she's beautiful too," he blushed.

His eyes widened, "N-not that you aren't... also beautiful... because you are..."

Merlin, what am I doing?

Wait-

Ugh, I've even picked up her speech patterns...

He let his face fall in his hands, "It's just- she's so headstrong and brave and I can see she has hope for the world- hope that it could become better. Maybe she's seen it happen, maybe she's an idealist like me..."

"But it's not all been butterflies and rainbows. There's so much we haven't told her- and I know she knows we haven't. She really could get the information anytime she wants... but she seems to want us to trust her. It's suspicious but also... very... innocent somehow."

"Naive maybe? She's definitely been through something traumatic but it seems she's still retained so much... hope..."

He sighed into his hands.

"It's not all lies, I know that for sure. But where does the lie start? Is there a lie? How could there not be..."

"Because how did she just fall into our laps in the nick of time? Why did this seemingly perfect being just- with all her altruism and kindness and charm- why did she just join us when we needed her most...?"

He shook his head, "She's said her reasons, which are plausible, but it can't be just that. There has to be more- there has to be, because if there isn't... I don't think I can let her go so easily..."

In all reality, I'd be heartbroken if she went back to her homeworld.

"And honestly, I don't know how I'd react if she were to actually betray us... This- It would be devastating."

Not only for their progress as Eldians within the wall but for him personally as well...

She makes me feel so worthy- worthy to exist… I've felt it before but never in a way that wasn't tainted by Titans and killing and war.

The simple act of holding her- reassuring her made him feel like maybe he was useful for more than just strategy in the name of violence.

Hermione made him feel whole.

He combed through the hair free from his ponytail nervously, "But enough about her- must not be what you want to hear about, eh?"

"Maybe you'd like to hear more about me," he laughed in a rather self-deprecating manner. He then sobered a bit, "I don't know, maybe you would…"

He tried to forgo his insecurities in favor of reason, thinking of all the moments that made him sure that Annie would join them in Stohess.

"Maybe…" he shook his head, snapping himself out of his speculation, "Well…"

"Well… I… I've been thinking about what it means to be good, what I prescribe as good, and what it means to me now- now that everything's changed. And it frustrates me and frightens me and amazes me to no end that whenever I think of "good", Hermione comes to mind…"

"I- I still believe no one is truly good or bad- not universally- not to everyone," he wrung his fingers nervously, "It's subjective, yes?" He looked up at Annie's ever stoic face. And although he wasn't expecting an answer, he figured if she could hear, then he might as well speak to her like she was human and not some journal to lay out his thoughts.

"Well. Then subjectively, to me, Hermione is good," he couldn't help the small smile that made its way to his lips. Emboldened by memories of her character- of their time together he kept on, "She is a good person. She just is. It's like she makes any good deed I or anyone else has ever done pale in comparison to her's. Her kindness isn't done out of an obligation to some moral code or system of power, but because she genuinely cares for the people she's helping. Her powers aren't inherently destructive like our's, they're beautiful and useful for more than just… killing and war."

"When I help her, when I take care of her-" he ran his hand through his hair, untying it in the process, "it's just- I've never felt so good. I've never felt such pureness in my worth. I've only felt this way once and that was…" His eyes wandered into an empty space on the ground. He remembered when he'd realized that he'd inadvertently saved his best friends by calling on Hannes on that fateful day. He remembered the feeling of pride and worthiness to be by their side. "Anyways…" he shook himself out of his thoughts once again, "She makes me feel like I can be good too."

He thought about the woman he murdered to save Jean, all the unfortunate Eldians from Marley he directly and indirectly killed by being in the Scouts, all the times he'd saved his friends because of an intelligence and strategic mind that was only useful in times of great conflict.

Then he thought of all the ways he helped Hermione. How he'd keep her company, remind her when to rest and eat, and how he'd hold her when she sad. There was no bitter aftertaste to helping Hermione, certainly not that of bloodshed either. To him, it felt pure, she made him feel pure.

"Ugh, sorry, talking about her again," he scratched the back of his head and blushed, embarrassed by his seemingly endless praise of this otherworldly girl.

He put on a false smile, "It seems that Captain Levi's been in a good mood lately-"

Armin stayed there for quite a while, up until he was practically kicked out by Hitch.

Does she like Annie too?

No matter, it can't be helped. It was undeniable that Annie had a certain charm to her, even as she was encased in hardening crystal.

Can't blame Hitch if she did.

It was certainly an enlightening time- despite Armin being the only one talking. It allowed him to organize his thoughts better, lay them out more logically.

I'll visit again soon and I'll probably have more to talk about by then too.

He sighed once more as he rode his horse back to their base. He couldn't help but anticipate seeing Hermione again, his Mond. He couldn't help but worry either.

Oh, she's probably fine- the squad's probably keeping her company in my stead.

She's probably just fine, he softly smiled when he saw that it was late enough in the day for the stars to show... his world's stars...

Maybe Hermione was right. Maybe I can come to her world one day...

Wishful thinking, Armin, wishful thinking.

For now, just get back to the base... then get to the Sea.

Get to the Sea with-

He shook his head. Wishful thinking, Armin...

Wishful thinking…