Coming for your heart

Chapter 89

He opened his eyes.

And was met with fear on his friend's faces.

- - -

Armin POV

For a while tense silence filled the small cave and Erwin's eyes were piercing a hole into his soul.

"I followed a pair of rebels. I wanted to find out where they were going." Not a lie. Never a lie. "But I lost them when the snow set in. It was too cold for me to move on and I looked for a hideout where I could spend the night."

"Then where did you find him?", Erwin asked, making a gesture at the boy sleeping on Armin's thighs. His husky voice sent shivers down Armin's spine and he bit his lip to keep from reacting.

"He was running from someone. I helped him escape."

A sigh was all he got from Erwin.

The man watched the snow passing the cave's entrance. Armin looked him over and bitter surprise flooded his system once he noticed that he was wearing the uniform he had so often seen him wearing when he strode through the hallways, mind absent.

He scoffed, which attracted Erwin's attention. He raised his eyebrow and cast him a questioning glance that Armin ignored. Instead he watched the boy.

"How is Faris?", he mumbled.

"Fine."

Then he and Mikasa made it out of the cave. A fleeting smile danced over his lips. I'm glad.

"We have to get out of here.", Erwin suddenly said. "I can't stay away for long."

"Sure. Your duty is waiting for you.", Armin huffed and his jaw tightened, his smile fading.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

"Armin-"

"We have to get out of here, don't we?", he cut the older man off. His mouth set in a hard line. "Since the snowstorm probably won't go away for some time, we'll have to wait until we can leave this place."

Erwin chewed on his bottom lip.

"You're right.", he finally said with a sigh. "The storm will be over soon. Let's wait up and decide what to do then."

- - -

Erwin's prediction was proven wrong.

The storm continued on not only for hours but days. A few times Armin tried to slip out to find food or water but in the end their stomachs kept growling and melted snow was their substitute for water.

The boy had woken up only a few hours after Armin and Erwin had stopped talking and was surprisingly calm, if weary of the older man's presence.

"Are you a spy?", he asked Erwin without hesitation one time and Armin choked on the sip of water he had been drinking out of the palm of his blueish looking hand. Erwin glanced back and forth between them before denying the accusation with the hint of a nervous smile.

"Maybe he is one of them.", the boy grumbled into Armin's ear when Erwin had finally been able to catch some sleep. Armin stayed silent, neither denying nor confirming the child's suspicion.

When Erwin woke up again, the boy had started to play with a few dry leaves in the darkest corner of the cave and pouted when one of them became dust in between his small fingertips.

"What is your name?", Erwin asked after a few days had passed. Until then they hadn't had much reason to talk and the grey of the clouds was already starting to turn black again. Armin rubbed his eyes. His back ached from the hard stones and the freezing ground he slept on during the loud and windy nights.