Chapter 1: Parlez-vous Français?
Chapter Text
Math homework, missed.
History essay, missed.
Squinting her left eye, Ymir lifted her balled-up French homework above her head then threw it at a recycling bin across the library. The paper struck the wall behind the bin, bounced off, and landed in front of it, beside her history essay and math homework. With a yawn, Ymir turned herself in her seat so she could kick her legs onto the table. Crossing her left leg over her right, she took out her phone and swiped down the notifications tab.
[No Notifications]
Ymir leaned back in her chair, keeping her calves pressed against the table. Her arms hung over the arms of the chair, and her phone dangled loosely in her left hand. There she sat for several minutes, casually rocking back and forth while staring at the ceiling. In the far corner of the library, she could hear someone shifting through the shelves. She began to doze off, and her grip on her phone began to loosen.
Then her phone vibrated, jolting Ymir from her stupor and into an upright posture. Her phone fell from her hand and clattered across the floor. She leaned over the side of her chair, muttering curses as she reached for her phone. At the same time, the library door opened and a lone person entered. Ymir, with her back to the door and her attention elsewhere, did not notice the newcomer’s approach.
“Ymir?” Historia’s sudden appearance startled Ymir and she fell forward onto her stomach, her arm outstretched towards her phone. Historia took a step back, then knelt down; “Are you alright?”
Ymir patted the floor with her outstretched hand. “I dropped my phone.”
Historia looked to where Ymir’s hand was, and saw her phone just inches away. Smiling, she resisted the urge to laugh at the situation and leaned over Ymir to get the fallen object. In the same instance, Ymir looked up and saw Historia’s chest only inches above her face. Ymir stared for a few seconds, saving the image in her mind, before slowly turning her face back to the floor. After those moments that felt like years, Historia returned to her previous position, sitting now, and offered up Ymir’s phone to her. Still facing the floor, Ymir lifted her hand and took her phone, then lowered her arm back against the floor. “Thanks.”
“Do you need help getting up?”
“Nope, I’m good here.”
Historia got her feet under her and stood up, dusting off her pants, “Are you sure?” Ymir stayed on the floor, but raised her right hand in a thumbs-up. Historia shrugged, “If you say so, see you in French.”
“Yeah, see you later.” Ymir lifted her head and watched Historia as she exited, her eyes trained on the blonde’s backside. ‘I’d French you.’
Historia stopped just before she reached the door and began to turn around, so Ymir hurriedly returned her gaze to the floor before Historia could catch her staring. “Do you need any help, Armin?”
“I’ve got it!” From the strain in Armin’s voice, it did not sound like he had it. Historia did not ask again, and gave him a small wave before exiting the library. Ymir began to stand up and pulled out her chair again to sit down when a series of bangs came from the far end of the library. Ymir slowly turned around and looked in the direction from which the clamour originated. She noticed that a few textbooks had spilled out from behind the bookshelf, and then she observed as a hand extended from behind the bookshelf and knew what had happened.
“Oi, Arlert. You–”
The door opened again and Ymir’s speech faltered when she caught sight of another short, blonde girl enter the room. She pursed her lips in embarrassment when she realized that it was not Historia, but Annie Leonhart with her hair down. This was odd, because Annie always kept her hair in a tight bun. Annie surveyed the room from left to right and her eyes met Ymir’s halfway. She acknowledged the taller girl with a nod, which Ymir reciprocated. Annie continued her examination of the library as Ymir sat herself down until her eyes came to rest on the aisle where Armin was with his still-scattered textbooks.
She began to walk over and knelt down where Ymir could still see her. “Annie, hey! When did you–?”
“Why were you trying to carry eight textbooks?” At the announcement of the number, Ymir snorted. There was no way that Armin could have hoped to carry that many books when he could hardly lift a single nine-kilogram weight. It was a wonder how he walked to school every day with his over-stuffed backpack.
“Well I need one for AP Calculus, one for Government, one for–”
“I get it.” Annie’s curt response made Ymir roll her eyes. She could never understand how these two became a couple (the only things they seemed to have in common were that they were both blond, blue-eyed, and stupidly smart).
‘Maybe it’s that Aryan thing? But Armin’s Jewish so that didn’t make sense.’
“Annie, I can carry those!” Ymir was snapped back from her thoughts when Armin raised his voice. Annie had begun to walk away with five of the textbooks. Armin followed with the remaining three, which were all noticeably thinner.
“I’ve got it.” Annie transported her cargo across the room, where a swollen, blue backpack sat atop a table. Armin hustled after her, hauling the remaining books with him. Once they had deposited the volume, Armin sat down while Annie remained standing at the opposite side of the table. “You can bring four home.”
“But I have homework for every class!”
“I know that you’ve completed four of these classes’ homeworks already, and you only have your double period of Government left before the day ends.”
Armin looked down, sheepishly avoiding Annie’s gaze. “I just want to make sure that I have a full grasp of each topic…”
“You read each of these textbooks over the summer, and took notes,” Ymir leaned back in her chair, watching the sitcom-worthy scene unfold before her eyes, “and I’m going to end up carrying most of these home for you if you do bring them.”
So that was how Armin managed to travel between school and home each day.
“But you would help me, right?” Ymir gagged when she heard Armin’s sweetened tone, but neither of the two blonds at the table seemed to notice.
Annie remained silent for a moment before turning away from the table, “Do whatever you want.” She began to walk away, and Armin watched her go with a grin on his face before he realized something and began digging into his pocket.
“Annie!” He called, standing up with his hand still in his pocket and hobbling after Annie, who stopped and waited for him with an expression that did not betray any reaction to his awkward advance. When he reached her, Armin stopped and produced a simple, black hairclip from his pocket. “You left this at my house after you left yesterday, and I just remembered that I brought it.”
Annie took the item from Armin’s hand and began to expertly arrange her hair into a bun, “We had two classes together, tiger.” Ymir nearly gagged again at the nickname, but covered her mouth. Annie and Armin noticed her movement this time, and paused their conversation and movements for a moment to regard her. Ymir gave them a small wave and pulled out her phone to feign indifference. The duo continued to observe her for a moment before redirecting their attentions to each other. “You could have given it back to me earlier, since nothing usually escapes from that mind of yours.”
“I like seeing you with your hair down,” Armin explained, “you look cute!”
Annie’s normally pale skin flushed, and Ymir feared that she would choke to death if they went on like this. Annie finished tying her bun and looked at Armin straight in his eyes, which seemed to fluster him. “I’ll see you after school, usual place.” With a quick sideways glance at Ymir, Annie leaned forward and pecked Armin on the cheek before walking to the door and leaving him alone with Ymir.
“See you later…” He murmured, slowly raising a hand to the spot where Annie had kissed him. Ymir could not see Armin, but he knew that he was probably smiling from ear-to-ear. Armin also could not see Ymir, but he was not thinking about how she was making gestures like she was choking behind his back. After standing for a few moments, he walked back to where his books and backpack waited. For several minutes, Armin and Ymir sat in silence; the former dutifully taking notes from the library copy of Plato’s Republic and the latter scrolling through her phone without interest.
Eventually, Ymir became bored enough to put down her phone and resume her earlier reclining position. Trying to think of a way to entertain herself, she drummed her fingers on her thigh. A lightbulb went off in her head, and she slowly rotated her head towards Armin, who was still engrossed in his studies. Quietly, so he would not hear her coming, Ymir rose and snuck around Armin’s table. Once Ymir was directly behind him, she strode over and slapped both her hands onto Armin’s shoulders. The surprise elicited a quick shout from the boy, and he whirled around to face his assailant. “Y-Ymir! What was that for?”
“Some fun,” she answered coolly, “there’s not much to do in here.”
“You could check out a book…” Armin suggested, but his voice trailed off when Ymir leaned against a bookshelf and crossed her arms, “Ymir? What’s wrong?”
“I’m curious, how’d you do it?”
Armin slipped the graphic bookmark that Eren had given him for his birthday into Plato’s Republic and shifted his chair so that he could face Ymir more easily. “Do what?”
“Annie.” Armin coughed embarrassedly and quickly covered his face with his hand. Ymir, upon realizing his misinterpretation of her reply, bowed her head and sighed. “That’s not what I meant at all, dumbass. Don’t think that I’d give you that much credit.” Ymir lifted her head and gave Armin a mocking smirk. When Armin did not respond to her taunt or even look up at her, Ymir’s expression changed into one of confusion, then wide-eyed realization. “You’ve gotta be shitting me.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“What the hell… You too?” Ymir sat down beside Armin, who scooted back a bit. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed again before pointing at Armin, “Look, Arlert. I’m gonna be real with you for a second and you’ll tell no one, capisce?” Armin was about to respond, but Ymir closed her eyes cut him off; “Despite my charm and good looks, I’m the only one in our grade who doesn’t seem to be getting any action. Until today, I thought that we were comrades in this despair.” She opened up one eye to ensure that Armin was paying attention, and withheld a grin when she saw how his face revealed his bewilderment. “But now, I realize this, young coconut;” Ymir reached out and slapped her hand down onto Armin’s shoulder, which shocked him into sitting up straighter, “you’ve got game, and you’re gonna help me out. Here,” She leaned back and fished her phone out of her pocket, “what’s your number?”
Armin responded mechanically; “104-171-3184…”
Ymir typed the number into her phone, and patted Armin twice on the shoulder before standing, “I’ll call you later, thanks again, golden boy.”
“Uh huh…” Armin watched her return to her original table and retrieve her bag. ‘What?’
Chapter 2: Annie's Advice
Chapter Text
Armin and Annie met at the back corner of their school block five minutes after their final classes let out. Annie had arrived ten minutes prior, but Armin had only just arrived lugging an overstuffed backpack and a textbook in each hand. “Sorry for the wait, Annie!” Armin was out of breath, and it seemed that he had jogged all the way from his locker. “I had to ask Mr. Jinn a question after class, and then he told me to look in these books –” Annie had closed the distance between herself and Armin while he rambled, and she had placed her hands upon his tensed upper arms, “Huh?”
Annie leaned forward and kissed him, which caused Armin to loosen his grip on his books. When they began to slip from his hands, Annie released his arms and stooped down slightly to catch them. Armin blinked and looked at Annie, whose face was now below his chin-level and bearing an amused smile. “You need to work on your apologies, tiger,” She stepped back and put the textbooks under her left arm before she slid her messenger bag off and opened it with her left, “shorten it to twenty words or less.”
“Was that a reference?”
“Maybe,” Annie forced the books into her bag, crushing some loose papers in the process, “why?”
“No reason,” Annie stood back up, and Armin extended his hand to her, “my house or yours?”
Annie took his hand, “That’s two weird questions in a row. Is this why Mr. Jinn gave you those books?”
The pair began walking down the sidewalk, and Armin chuckled behind his free hand. “He said that he hadn’t heard of the topic I asked about before, so it’d be better if I found the answer myself instead of getting a weak one from him.”
“Hmm…” Annie brought out her phone and pulled up Pokémon Go.
As the loading bar slowly filled, Armin looked over her shoulder, “You still play that?”
“It’s a good distraction when I’m walking.”
Armin grinned and pressed his cheek against Annie’s, “But that’s why you have me!” Annie tilted her head and turned so that she could give Armin a quick peck on the cheek before returning her attention to the app. Armin huffed and looked around to make sure that the sidewalks were empty before looking down at Annie’s phone as well.
Her screen depicted a 3D avatar walking along a road with a thin band of blue beside it. Annie’s phone vibrated, and a red Magikarp flopped onto the screen.
“I never caught enough to get its evolution,” Armin mumbled as Annie tapped on the Pokémon to trigger the encounter.
“I have three Gyarados now,” The Magikarp filled the screen with a golden color, and Annie stopped walking. Armin bumped into her shoulder when she stopped.
A wild Magikarp appeared!
The camera pulled back, and glittering white stars surrounded the oddly colored Pokémon before vanishing. Annie selected the ball menu and chose the Ultra Ball, then opened the berry menu and used a Razz Berry. “Why is that Magikarp yellow?” Annie did not answer her boyfriend’s question; she was focused on spinning the ball for a perfect throw. Once she lifted her finger, the ball arced and struck the Magikarp in the middle of its mouth.
Excellent!
The ball rolled three times before coming to a stop.
Oh?
Magikarp was displayed in a spotlight on a dark purple screen before a ball of white light enveloped it. Armin bit his lip to hold in a laugh while Annie stared blankly at her phone. The ball shot out beams of light before vanishing and revealing a light purple blob with a mockingly blank expression.
Ditto was caught!
Annie exited the app and opened her phone’s home menu. She pressed her forefinger onto the Pokéball icon and until all the apps began to shake. She clicked the small “x” that appeared above Pokémon Go’s icon. Armin, meanwhile, was fighting a fit of giggles.
Delete Pokémon Go? Deleting this app will –
Annie tapped the red “Delete” button and then placed her phone in her pocket. “We’re almost at your house, let’s hurry.”
Armin bit his lip and let Annie pull him as she marched down the sidewalk. “Don’t you mean, ‘let’s go?’” Annie stopped walking, knelt down, and reopened her bag. Armin rubbed his eye and watched Annie sift through her belongings, “What are you looking for?” Annie removed Armin’s two textbooks and held them out to him without saying a word. Armin pouted, “But if I’m carrying those, how will I hold your hand?”
“You should’ve considered that earlier.”
Armin sighed dramatically and took the books from Annie. Annie resealed her bag and rose again, walking next to Armin and keeping her gaze fixed on the road ahead. Armin struggled beside her as he tried to keep his grip on his books.
After several minutes of walking, or in Armin’s case, struggling, the duo arrived at Armin’s house. The house was a simple two-story brick design, with a clean, white door situated on the midpoint of its front-facing side.
The duo walked up a worn stone path to Armin’s door. Once they arrived, Armin set his books down beside the doorway and began digging through his pockets for his key. Annie stood behind him, and watched quietly as he began to search with more fervor. When he knelt down and began searching his bag, Annie leaned forward and plucked the triangular onigiri keychain hanging from his back pocket. He did not notice, so Annie stepped around him and unlocked the door herself. Upon hearing the click of the key, Armin looked up at the door’s lock, and then at Annie, who was looking down at him with raised eyebrows. “S-sorry about that…” Armin chuckled, zipping his bag shut again. Annie knelt down next to him and picked up his extra textbooks, then they rose in tandem.
“It’s alright.” Armin nodded and reached around Annie to open the door for her. He then stepped back and motioned for her to enter. Annie rolled her eyes before entering. “What a gentleman, but I could have just as easily opened it myself.”
“I know,” Armin said, smiling, “but you didn’t have to.” Annie looked around the familiar settings as Armin closed and locked the door behind them. The house smelled like a bakery, and was comfortably warm. “Grandpa?” Armin called out, turning away from the door, “Are you here?” Annie walked into the living room and looked for Armin’s grandfather. When she looked to the right, she could see into the kitchen and spotted a piece of paper sitting on the counter.
“Armin,” Annie waved him over and walked to the kitchen. She arrived first, but Armin was by her side moments later. Annie picked up the note and handed it to Armin, then she sat down on the counter and set the textbooks down next to her.
“He went to run some errands, so he won’t be back until later.” Armin relayed his grandfather’s message to Annie. His eyes widened when he read more. He tossed the paper onto another counter and dove for the oven, “I keep telling him not to do this!”
“What is it?”
Armin opened the oven and waved at the gust of hot air that swept forth. “He decided to warm some bagels for when I came home, but I told him not to leave the oven on when no one’s home!” Armin stood and took an oven mitt from above the appliance before he squatted down to remove a circular dish with two plain, light brown bagels on it.
“He probably just left and knew that you’d be home in a few minutes.” Annie stood up and went to where the note had fallen, “It turned out fine anyway, and we have bagels.” She picked up the note and began to read.
Armin set the dish onto the counter and sighed, “But what if it didn’t turn out fine?” Annie looked up from the note and regarded Armin, who was leaning forward with his hands on the edge of the countertop.
Annie crossed the room and rested her hands on his shoulders, “But it did, didn’t it?”
Armin hummed in reply, and his shoulders relaxed under Annie’s touch. “It did…” The two remained there for a minute, with the scent of warm bread wafting through the air around them. Then Armin chuckled to himself and broke the silence.
“What now?”
“Nothing,” Armin smiled to himself, “do you want one of these?”
“Only if you want to make it for me,” Annie stepped back so Armin could stand up straight.
Armin looked over his shoulder and smiled sunnily at Annie, “Gladly.” He then reached above the counter and pulled down a bread knife and began to cut the bagels, “What do you want on yours?”
In the meantime, Annie had returned to her seat on the counter. “If you have cream cheese, that’d be great. Butter works too.”
“Got it!” He called over his shoulder, then resumed the task at hand. Annie watched him for a moment, enjoying the sight of him working in the kitchen. A buzz from her phone broke the serenity, but she ignored it. A second buzz demanded that Annie answer her phone, in case her father had decided to ask where she was.
Messages
Burly: Bert’s sick :(((
Burly: I’m at his house now, you free to come by later?
“Reiner says that Bertolt’s sick,” Annie told Armin, who had moved from the bagels to the refrigerator and was searching for the cream cheese, “do you want to visit him later?”
“I noticed that he was missing during French today, that’s too bad!” Armin took out a container and sniffed the contents, then put it back when he realized that it was goat cheese, “Sorry, but I’ve got to stay here to help my grandpa when he comes back from his errands. Do you want to go?”
“I think that I’ll stay here with you for a bit and go there later, since Reiner’s probably going to want to dote on him all afternoon.”
“Sounds good to me,” Armin removed another container, and found that this one did contain cream cheese, “maybe my grandpa can give you a ride over there when you decide to go.”
“Mhm…” Annie acknowledged his suggestion while she tapped out a response to Reiner;
To Burly: At Armin’s, be there later. Tell Bert hey
The response was nearly immediate;
Burly: Have fun you crazy kids ;)))
Annie rolled her eyes and put her phone back into her pocket. Armin had finished spreading cream cheese onto the bagels and walked across the kitchen to Annie, “What did Reiner say?”
“Nothing. I’ll go over there later.”
Armin held out a bagel and smiled, “Nothing always means something.”
“Did you get that out of a fortune cookie?” Annie took the bagel and bit into it. When she did, a smudge of cream cheese found its way onto the corner of her lip. “What he said wasn’t important.”
Armin had taken a bite of the bagel when Annie had begun speaking, so he modestly covered his mouth when her question caused him to laugh. He swallowed quickly to avoid choking, “N-no, that was all original.” Upon hearing her opinion on whatever Reiner had said, he laughed again, “If you say so.”
“I say so.” When Armin laughed again, Annie’s eyebrow rose, “What’s so funny?”
“You’ve got something on your lip, here,” Armin handed her a napkin and then gestured to the corner of his lip, “right there.”
Annie looked at the napkin for a moment, then raised her hand to her mouth and wiped the cream cheese onto her thumb. She then licked it off of her thumb while staring at Armin, whose face was quickly turning red. “It’s not good to waste food, tiger.”
“Y-yeah, that’s true.”
Annie smirked inwardly, having successfully avoided the topic of Reiner’s text while simultaneously reducing her boyfriend to an embarrassed puddle. Annie pressed her thumb onto her lower lip, testing for Armin’s reaction. His pupils became noticeably dilated and his face became even redder, with the color beginning to spread to his ears. She set her bagel behind her and leaned forward. Armin also put his food aside and scooted closer to her.
Before anything more could happen, Armin’s phone buzzed from the counter where Armin had prepared their snack. The duo sighed, and Annie patted Armin’s thigh. “You should take that, it could be your grandpa.”
Armin looked across the room at his phone, briefly debating whether or not he wanted to move. He knew that Annie had a point, so he hopped off of the counter and hurried across the kitchen. When he looked at his phone screen, Armin saw an unregistered number with the area code for his neighborhood. He swiped left on the screen and held the phone to his ear. “Hello? This is Armin Arlert.”
There was a thick background noise, like it was windy. “Hey, golden boy. It’s Ymir.”
“Who is it?” Annie asked, looking up from the bagel that she had resumed eating.
“Ymir,” Armin's replied quickly, looking over his shoulder at Annie. His answer seemed to surprise her because she put her bagel back down.
“You got company, Arlert?” Ymir asked.
“Ye–”
“Put her on speaker,” Annie stood up and walked past Armin, then turned to face him while leaning against the counter.
Armin was about to ask why when Ymir interrupted him, “Who is that with you?”
“It’s Annie,” Armin answered, “she wants me to put you on speaker. Is that alright?”
“Sure, go ahead. I have a question for her too.”
Armin held the phone between himself and Annie and tapped the speaker button. The background noise emerged from his phone and prompted Armin into lowering the volume. “Can you hear me alright?”
“Loud and clear,” Ymir confirmed, her voice somehow clear despite the noise. “Alright, Leonhart, you’re first up, I’ve got a question for you.”
“Just a second,” Annie interjected, and muted the call. “What’s this about?”
Armin un-muted the call and quickly asked Ymir to hold for a second, then he silenced it again. “I told her that I’d help her ask out Historia.”
Annie looked at him dubiously, then asked; “Why?”
“Why not? I don’t have any reason to refuse.”
Annie shrugged and placed her hands on either side of her, “If you say so, put her back on.”
Armin un-muted the call again, and the sound of wind had ceased, “Ymir? You still there?”
“Yep, what was that about?”
“Nothing, what do you want?” Annie answered before Armin had the chance.
Ymir wasted no time and got right to the point. “Why did you decide to hook up with Armin? He’s not much to look at, and he gets nervous way too easily.”
Armin looked up at Annie, who was still looking at his phone. “First of all, we aren’t ‘hooking up,’” Annie’s strong tone surprised Armin, “secondly, looks aren’t everything and if you were into guys Armin would have probably been your first choice too considering how you look at Historia,” Armin coughed into his hand when Annie said that to hide his laughter and growing smile, “and third,” Annie looked up at Armin, who had reached for a stray napkin to wipe his hand, “I think that it’s cute when he gets flustered.”Armin’s face heated up when he heard Annie say that, and he looked down while he wiped his hand. “If you’re just looking to have a quick fling, I’ll tell you right now that Historia isn’t that kind of person and that I won’t help you with a meaningless hook-up.”
Ymir whistled once Annie had finished talking. “Geez, Leonhart. I don’t think that I’ve ever heard you talk that much.”
“Ymir,” Armin decided to speak up, “I agree with Annie. I don’t want to help you if you plan to drop Historia after you get whatever it is you want from a relationship with her. It’s not fair to her.”
“Damn, you guys have no faith in me do you?” Ymir’s tone had become more serious, and just a little bit subdued. “Don’t worry, I’m not planning on doing anything that’d hurt her. I just want to get closer to her.”
“And why is that?” Annie pressed, “I’ve hardly seen you two interact at school.”
“I’m not sure,” Ymir admitted, then she chuckled quietly, “I’m gonna sound like such a sap, but I’m honestly interested in her as a person. Maybe it’s because I feel like we’re alike?”
“Alike?” Armin asked, “How so?”
Ymir’s voice regained her characteristic bluster when she next spoke, “Hey, I’m supposed to be the one asking the questions here!”
Armin laughed nervously, “Right, sorry.” Annie reached out and rested her hand on Armin’s shoulder to help calm him. He smiled at her in response to the gesture, then took a deep breath to recompose himself as she removed her hand. “What did you want to ask me, Ymir?”
“I’ll call you back and ask in a bit, I’ve got to get into my house right now.” The faint jingling of keys could be heard through the phone, “Later, lovebirds.”
“Good–” Ymir hung up before Armin could finish, “bye.” Armin sighed at the abrupt end of the call, and put his phone in his pocket. Once it was tucked away, he looked at Annie, “That was really nice, what you said to Ymir about me.”
Annie shrugged and looked to the side, which caused a stray bang to fall over her eye and cheek, “It’s the truth, I just answered honestly.”
Armin smiled and closed the distance between himself in Annie. Gingerly, he took her hand in his and looked at it before returning his gaze to her face, “How did I get so lucky?”
Now it was Annie’s turn to blush, but she was able to control herself so that her face did not get anywhere near as red as Armin’s had. “I should be the one to ask that.”
Armin stroked the top of Annie’s hand with his thumb and shook his head, “I’m serious. You’re really, really amazing, Annie. Compared to you I’m–” Annie squeezed Armin’s hand tightly and successfully caused him to stop speaking.
“I already said that I don’t like when people say things that aren’t true, didn’t I?” Annie asked, returning her gaze to Armin’s face, “So I’m going to have to ask you to stop right there. Don’t sell yourself short, Armin. You’re a better person than I am.”
Armin shook his head, “That’s a subjective opinion, and I disagree because I think that you’re the best person in this room.”
Annie rolled her eyes, “That’s a subjective opinion too, tiger. Don’t be a hypocrite.”
Armin chuckled, his eyes closing while he laughed. “Fair enough,” He conceded, “but my opinion won’t change.”
“Neither will mine,” Annie countered. Armin’s eyes opened and Annie gave him a rare smile which made his own smile widen. Armin’s hands moved to Annie’s hips and hers came to rest on his shoulders. They leaned forward as they had before and nothing stopped their lips from meeting this time.
It was a short-lived kiss though, since the sound of the front door opening startled them both out of their mutual trance. “Armin, are you home?”
“Yes!” Armin said to his grandfather, “I’m in the kitchen with Annie!” Annie, who had rested her forehead on Armin’s shoulder and begun to laugh quietly after hearing his grandfather’s call.
“Did you two find the bagels that I left for you?”
“Yes!” Armin chose to withhold his complaint about the oven, since Annie was also in the house and it was kind of his grandfather to leave food for them.
Annie leaned back from Armin’s shoulder and stepped to Armin’s left so that his grandfather would not walk into the kitchen and find them in such an intimate position. She then whispered in his ear, “Do you think that we’ll ever get some privacy?”
Armin bit his lip and blushed for the third time since they had entered the kitchen, “I certainly hope so…”
Chapter 3: Reiner Braun, MD
Chapter Text
“So I was in Mr. Zacharias’s study hall earlier, doing my work, being a good student and all that when all the sudden he asks me from across the room,” Connie positioned his pointer finger above his lips and sniffed loudly, “‘Connie, did you put on deodorant today?’”
Reiner laughed at the punchline to Connie’s story, but Jean just raised his eyebrow. “Did you?”
“Well, no.” Connie admitted, and Jean shrugged his shoulders dismissively, “But that’s not the point! How could he have known that from across the room? He had only been near me when he took attendance at the start of class.”
“Maybe you smelled so bad that he had been thinking about it since then?” Reiner offered, leaning back against the bench that the three boys were seated on.
Connie shoved Reiner’s shoulder, “Har har, very funny. I’m serious though! Doesn’t he seem to always know what’s going on with people without even talking to them?”
“Yeah, I guess that is a little weird.” Jean picked up his backpack and opened it, “but lots of our teachers are like that. Mr. Ackerman always seems to know exactly how to embarrass us.”
“Says the guy who got spotted sketching Mikasa during his class last quarter.”
“That wasn’t what I was doing!” Jean snapped back at Reiner, “He totally embarrassed me in front of her, too. I can’t stand that guy.”
“To be honest, I don’t even think she knows.” Connie pointed out, “Doesn’t she usually sleep through his classes?”
“She does,” Jean admitted, “but someone would have said something afterwards. You know how fast gossip spreads through this school.”
“It’s a little creepy that you were sketching Mikasa while she was sleeping, Jean.” Reiner chided, taking a sip from his water bottle while side-eying Jean, who began crumpling the papers within his bag out of frustration.
Connie seemed to have missed the exchange, since he was sitting on the opposite side of Reiner from Jean and had been thinking about what Jean said. “Mikasa doesn’t really seem like the type to gossip though…”
Reiner put down his drink and Jean leaned forward to look at Connie. “I can’t believe you just missed my sweet burn…” Reiner lamented.
“Doesn’t she usually hang out with Armin and Historia, though?” Jean asked. “Those two always know what’s happening around here.”
Connie shrugged, “I dunno. Armin doesn’t seem like he’d tell her about that sort of thing. He would probably think that it wouldn’t matter to her.”
Reiner nudged Connie with his shoulder, “Look at you, figuring out how one of our top students thinks. That’s pretty cool, Connie.”
“I am a genius after all!” Jean rolled his eyes and smiled to himself. “He’s been helping Eren, Sasha, and me study after school sometimes. I’ve gotten to know him a little better, he’s a pretty neat guy!”
“Really? He’s always seemed a little creepy to me.” Jean closed his bag after not finding what he was looking for, and set it down in front of himself.
“Sorta like a guy who watches girls sleep?”
“That didn’t happen!” Jean turned and shouted at Reiner, who covered his face defensively while laughing. “You shitheads…” Jean leaned forward and snatched up his bag and rose from the bench, “I’m going home!”
Connie waved at Jean as he left, “See ya later, Jean-bo!” The use of his mother’s nickname for him caused Jean to flip-off Connie while he walked, but that just made him and Reiner laugh more.
Reiner held up his fist to Connie once Jean was further away, “Excellent finisher, boy wonder.”
“Holy 60’s T.V. reference, Batman.” Connie fist-bumped Reiner, whose phone buzzed at that same moment. Reiner pulled his phone out and read the messages with Connie reading over his shoulder.
Messages
Mrs. Hoover: Hey Reiner. Bertolt stayed home sick, but I bet that he’d love to see you!
Reiner looked from his phone to Connie, who closed his eyes and nodded sagely. “Go to him.”
Reiner jumped from his seat and slung his bag over his shoulder, then began to run from the bench. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Connie!” Reiner shouted as he hurried away.
“Run, Forrest, run!” He barely heard Connie’s shout, and grinned to himself as he ran. The last few people who were trickling out of their high school stopped and stared as Reiner passed the main doorway. Reiner thought that he heard someone ask where he was going, but he did not stop to answer.
After he turned the corner onto 2nd Street, a person whose voice was too loud to be ignored called to him; “Hey, Reiner! Need a lift?!” Reiner slowed to a jog and looked next to him. A dark green car was driving next to him. Its window rolled down to reveal Mikasa in the driver’s seat, and the person who had shouted at him, Eren, leaned forward in the passenger’s seat.
Mikasa turned to her passenger, “Eren, when you can drive, you can pull over for anyone you want, but it’s rude to put someone else in that position. Also, buckle your seat-belt.” Reiner bit his lip and snorted as Eren leaned back, muttering to himself while he strapped himself in. Mikasa watched him, then turned to Reiner once she was satisfied, “Where are you going, Reiner?”
“Bertolt’s sick,” He explained, pointing his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of Bertolt’s house, “I was running to his house just now.”
The car’s doors unlocked with a satisfying ‘click.’ “I know where that is, do you want a ride?”
Reiner grinned and unshouldered his backpack, “You’re a lifesaver, Mikasa,” then opened the door and clambered into the car. He set his backpack on the floor beside his seat and fastened his seat-belt. “You said that you know where his house is?”
“Yeah, you two had that little party there last month, right?”
“That’s right.” He confirmed. Mikasa nodded, then relocked the doors and continued driving.
Eren was eying Mikasa from his seat beside her. “I feel like what you just said could have been a direct quote from my mother.”
Mikasa kept her eyes on the road while she answered; “She’s my inspiration.”
“She has survived raising you for sixteen years, Eren.” Reiner quipped from the backseat.
“Exactly.”
Eren gaped at Mikasa, then looked over his seat at Reiner, who shrugged at him. “It’s the truth, Mikasa agrees with me.”
“I’m gonna need you to get out in the next five seconds.”
“Eren, you can’t kick people out of someone else’s car.” Reiner pursed his lips and grinned cheekily at Eren, who shut his eyes and inhaled deeply through his mouth. “Sit correctly, too.” The second comment made Eren bite his upper lip as he released a long exhalation from his nose.
Reiner continued barely stifling his laughter while Eren drew himself back into his seat. The car slowed to a stop as Mikasa reached a red light. Eren turned to her, “Now you’re just trying to embarrass me.”
“You make it too easy,” Reiner, in the back seat, smiled normally and crossed his arms over his chest. He liked seeing how much Eren drew the normally stoic Mikasa out of her shell, and it reminded him of Armin’s positive influence on Annie.
Eren, on the other hand, did not seem to pleased that she was toying with him at every opportunity. He glanced at the red light, and saw that the timer for the intersecting road’s green light was at a decent 35 seconds. An idea occurred to him, and he grinned. He quickly leaned over the center console and kissed Mikasa on the seat, then retreated back into his seat.
Reiner covered his mouth and gasped dramatically as Mikasa took her eyes off the road for the first time and stared at Eren with an unreadable expression on her face. “You’re lucky that we’re at a red light…”
“Why? Was that distracting?” Eren grinned at her, then nodded at the stoplight. “It’s about to change, you should really keep your eyes on the road.”
Mikasa snapped her gaze back forward, and resumed her progress up 2nd Street with her face heated from Eren’s surprise attack. Reiner was barely containing himself in the back seat. Eren’s counter surprised him; he would have never thought that his rash classmate would think of something like that. ‘It’d kill Jean to know that Eren has that effect on her…’ He mused, chuckling as he looked out the window.
“Uh, Reiner?” Eren’s voice roused Reiner from his thoughts. “You alright? You’re laughing like you’re plotting something back there.”
“Oh no, I’m fine. I was just thinking about Jean.”
Eren tilted his head back over his shoulder and grinned mischievously, “Yeah, I laugh whenever I think about that horse-face too.”
“Eren,” Mikasa cautioned, not wanting Eren to say anything rude. She pulled closer to the curb but remained halfway in her lane. “We’re here, Reiner.” The doors unlocked again.
Reiner checked the view outside the window on the other side of the backseat and confirmed that they were outside of Bertolt’s house. “Awesome, thanks again Mikasa!” Reiner grabbed his bag and pushed open the door.
As he exited, he managed to hear Eren say to Mikasa: “You know Sasha said that she heard about Jean drawing you when you fall asleep in class?” Reiner stood there holding the door open so he could hear where their exchange went.
“It’s probably just a rumor, why would he do that?”
“I dunno.” It was then that Reiner understood another reason why Eren and Mikasa got along so well: they were both dense as hell. Eren looked back at Reiner, who was standing silently by the open door. “Uh, Reiner? You good?” Mikasa also turned around in her seat to look at Reiner.
“Yeah, thanks.” Reiner stepped back from the car, “See you guys later.”
“Uh huh…” Eren squinted confusedly at him, but waved nonetheless. “See you.” Reiner nodded and shut the door. He then walked around the front of the car towards Bertolt’s house. It was not until he was halfway up the stairs to the door that he heard Mikasa and Eren pull away. He turned and watched them drive down the road. When they turned right and left his sight, the front door opened.
“Reiner! You’re here!” Bertolt’s mother, the only person who surpassed him in height, stood in the doorway. She was as lanky as her son, and was wearing a pair of thin-rimmed, circular glasses.
Reiner looked up the stairway at her and smiled, “I got your message, how are you? How’s Bertolt?”
“He’s upstairs, reading I think.” She gestured for Reiner to come inside so he quickly ascended the stairs and followed her through the door. The front room of the house was large and open, with a six-chair dining table beside a wide window to the left of the door and an L-shaped couch further inside. Mrs. Hoover walked across the room to the kitchen, which was visible to Reiner thanks to an opening in the wall. “I just finished making Bertolt some chicken soup, would you please bring it to him for me?”
“Of course,” Reiner walked to the opening and took a steaming bowl from Mrs. Hoover, “does he know I’m here?”
She winked at him and smiled, “I thought that he’d like the surprise.”
Reiner grinned back at her. He and Mrs. Hoover thought alike when it came to Bertolt, and it often worked in his favor. “Thank you again.”
Mrs. Hoover waved him away and walked to the refrigerator, “Go on up, Reiner. He’ll love to see you.” Reiner nodded and headed up the stairway with the bowl of soup steaming in his hand.
Once he had surmounted the stairs, Reiner turned left and walked down a short hallway. He soon reached a door to his right, and he pressed his ear against the smooth wood and listened for snoring. Reiner did not hear Bertolt’s characteristically loud snoring, so he opened the door and was greeted by a remarkable sight.
Bertolt’s face was pressed into a thick pillow and his body was bent like an upside-down ‘v.’ His snoring had been muffled by the pillow and door, but now Reiner could hear a consistent, throaty drone. Reiner, took a moment to gape at the sight before pulling out his phone and taking a quick photo to document what Connie called “Bertolt’s artistic sleeping style.” Reiner then set the bowl of soup on the dresser next to the door before walking around the foot of Bertolt’s bed and then up towards its head.
Reiner knelt down once he was beside Bertolt, and rested his head on the bedside table. He proceeded to prod Bertolt’s shoulder. The first was light, and succeeded only in causing Bertolt to groan annoyedly. Reiner smiled and prodded Bertolt again, this time on his ticklish ribs. Bertolt’s eyes snapped open and he collapsed away from Reiner with an undignified shout. While he struggled within his now tangled blanket, Reiner clambered onto the bed and laid down comfortably on his side and watched Bertolt collect himself.
Bertolt’s expression when he collected himself and looked at Reiner was a mix of surprise, embarrassment, and haziness. His eyes and the tip of his nose were both red and his nose had a light crust below his nostrils. “R-Reiner?” Bertolt’s voice was hoarse from earlier coughing, “What are you doing here?”
“Your mom invited me,” Bertolt sighed, but cracked a slight smile, “she told me that you were sick so I came.” Reiner sat up and gave Bertolt a light shove on the shoulder, “Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?”
“I didn’t want you to worry at school,” Bertolt’s answer ended with a bout of coughing. Reiner held his hand on Bertolt’s shoulder and massaged him gently. “Sorry,” He wheezed, “I’ve been coughing since last night.” Reiner murmured that it was alright, but when Bertolt tried to reach around him for a water bottle on his bedside table, Reiner leaned to the side and blocked him.
“Cold water’ll only hurt your throat more,” He assured after Bertolt gave him a confused look. Reiner squeezed his boyfriend’s shoulder twice before swinging his legs over the side of the bed and rising. Bertolt watched him walk to the dresser and retrieve the bowl that he had left there. “Your mom finished this when I got here,” Reiner explained as he sat on the side of the bed closer to the door, “it’ll be better for your throat than that water.”
“Reiner, really, that’s not –”
“Eat,” Reiner urged and raised up a spoonful of soup. “Please?” The puppy-dog eyes that Reiner was trying to give him made Bertolt laugh, albeit raspily. He and Reiner locked eyes for a moment, with the latter beginning to break into a contagious grin. Bertolt closed his eyes, leaned forward, and took the spoon in his mouth. Quickly, he drank the soup and leaned back with his eyes still closed but more tightly now. Bertolt’s strange expression made Reiner worried, “Is it too hot?”
“No, not that.” Bertolt smiled, “it’s just that –”
At that moment, Bertolt’s door creaked open. His mother stepped halfway into the room and regarded the two boys who were seated together , “How are you feeling, sweetheart?”
Reiner smiled at the pet name, but it did not seem to faze Bertolt who smiled back at his mother, “A little better, Ma. Thank you.”
She grinned and tapped her fingers on the door. “I’ll leave you two alone, but let me know if you need anything.” Reiner and Bertolt both said their thanks to her, and she was almost out of the room until she stopped and leaned her head through the door and pointed at them. “By the way, no kissing today.” Both boys were left speechless by the sudden order, which was quickly clarified; “I don’t want you getting sick, Reiner.”
Reiner gave her a salute, “I shall resist.” Bertolt turned back around and looked at Reiner incredulously. Bertolt’s mother gave a thumbs-up and exited the room, leaving the door a crack open behind her. Reiner winked at Bertolt once she left, “If I can.”
Bertolt closed his eyes and rested his face in his hand, “You’re unbelievable…”
“Yeah, well,” Reiner shrugged, “you’re hard to resist.” Bertolt responded without a word, instead he simply gazed at Reiner with sore and tired eyes. Reiner stirred the soup with the spoon, “So what were you saying before?”
That question seemed to unsettle Bertolt more than his mother’s exchange with Reiner. “Ah, w-well…” Bertolt checked over his shoulder and listened to the sound of his mother’s feet descending the stairs, “My mom… Isn’t such a great cook. Usually it’s my dad or me in the kitchen.”
Reiner chuckled at Bertolt’s strained response, “Really?”
“Yeah…” Bertolt murmured, “but don’t tell her I said that, please. My mom gets really excited whenever she gets the chance to cook for my dad and me.”
“Your secret’s safe with me,” Reiner assured him. He then turned his gaze down to the soup that he had been idly stirring. Before Bertolt could say or do anything, he lifted the spoon to his mouth and sipped up the light brown liquid. His lips instantly puckered and the corners of his eyes wrinkled. Bertolt sat with his mouth agape. “It’s so salty…” Reiner complained, reaching back for the water that was sitting on the bedside table. Bertolt held his hand out but Reiner had already bent backwards and opened the bottle, and quickly proceeded to drink from it.
Bertolt rested his face in his hand and sighed. “You’re gonna get sick…” Reiner hummed confusedly around the rim of the bottle and set it down, with its contents remaining unswallowed in his mouth. Bertolt pointed at the spoon in the bowl and then the bottle on the table, “I put my mouth on both of those.”
Reiner processed what Bertolt said, then swallowed the water in his mouth. “So, since I already put my mouth where yours was, is it alright to kiss you? I’m probably going to get sick anyway.”
Bertolt remained silent, then turned his face to the side and coughed into the inside of his elbow. “That’s the grossest logic I’ve ever heard, Reiner.”
Reiner laughed. “It’s good logic though, right?” Bertolt shook his head and moved to lay down. Reiner scooted backwards so that Bertolt could lay down comfortably, then set the bowl of soup on the table beside the water bottle and laid down beside Bertolt so that his broad chest was against his lean back. “Tired?” All Reiner received was a quiet hum in reply. He smiled and kissed the back of Bertolt’s neck, “That’s good, you should rest.” Bertolt hummed again and shifted himself as close to Reiner as possible, Reiner slid his right arm under Bertolt’s armpit and draped his left across his side so that Reiner’s hand rested on Bertolt’s stomach.
After a few minutes, Bertolt began quietly snoring. Reiner had remained awake, and carefully removed his phone from his pocket. He twisted his neck so that he faced away from Bertolt’s head and opened the Messages app.
To Falcon Kick: Bert’s sick :(((
To Falcon Kick: I’m at his house now, you free to come by later?
About one minute passed before a response made Reiner’s phone buzz. He flinched at the noise, but Bertolt remained sound asleep.
Falcon Kick: At Armin’s, be there later. Tell Bert hey
Reiner chuckled at Annie’s reason, and wrote what he felt was the perfect response
To Falcon Kick: Have fun you crazy kids ;)))
Reiner closed Messenger and began opening and closing random apps while he waited for Annie to respond. After four minutes without any messages, he set his phone down on the edge of the bed and turned his face back towards the back of Bertolt’s head. He listened to Bertolt’s rhythmic snoring and was soon soundly asleep.
About three hours later, a blue, faded Toyota Camry stopped in front of Bertolt’s house. Armin exited from the back seat and held the door open for Annie. Once she was out, he closed it. “Sorry that I can’t stay, but please tell Bertolt and Reiner that I say hi.”
“No problem.” Annie adjusted her bag, “What’re you doing after school tomorrow?”
“I’m helping Connie and Eren with a small essay on Plato’s Republic, but I should leave school by five-thirty.”
“I’ll let you know if I stay late.” Annie placed her hand over Armin’s for a brief momen, “See you later, tiger,” then headed for the stairs to Bertolt’s door.
The small gesture made Armin smile softly and he watched as she began her ascent, “Bye, bearcat.” Annie looked over her shoulder and Armin averted his eyes, then realizing that it may have looked like he was staring. If Annie had felt the same way, she did not show it and gave Armin a simple wave. He returned it, then climbed into his grandfather’s car while Annie continued upwards. As soon as she reached the front door, the Camry pulled away.
Annie gave the door four quick taps, then took a small step back and waited. Bertolt’s mother opened the door a few moments later. “Hello, Annie!”
“Hello, Mrs. Hoover.” Annie said, trying to keep her voice both friendly and respectful, “I’m sorry for coming unannounced, Reiner told me that Bertolt was sick so I came over.”
“It’s no problem at all! Come on in,” She stepped back and held the door open for Annie, “the boys have been asleep upstairs for a while now, but it might be good to wake them up.” Annie followed Mrs. Hoover into the living room and watched her walk into the kitchen. “Do you want anything or are you going to go right up?”
Annie gazed up the stairs for a moment, “I think that I should check on them, if that’s alright.”
“Go ahead, they’ll be glad to see you.”
Annie nodded and walked up the second flight of stairs. She forgot which room was Bertolt’s for a moment when she reached the top, then heard a faint but constant sound to her left led Annie to the hallway left of the top step. There was a slightly open door to her right, so Annie quietly pushed it open. It was Bertolt’s room, and he was asleep on his bed with his right arm and shoulder flung over Reiner and his left leg crossed over his right. The blanket laid at the foot of the bed, but it partially covered Reiner, who had one corner firmly gripped in his hand despite being asleep and trapped underneath Bertolt. Annie questioned whether or not she should wake them, but she knew that Reiner would complain if he slept through the evening and then had to stay awake past midnight doing homework. Bertolt would also feel responsible if Reiner was put in that position.
After approaching the bed quietly, Annie sat down heavily on the side closest to the door. While she did succeed in making Reiner shift and make an annoyed humming sound, Bertolt was unaffected and both of them were still asleep. Changing tactics, Annie leaned over Reiner and pinched Bertolt’s nose. Within a few seconds, he sat up with a loud cough, kicked his legs forward and swung his right arm towards his face. Annie pulled back her hand and blocked Bertolt’s arm. He had kicked Reiner several times and forced him towards Annie as he jolted awake.
Annie retreated from the chaos by rolling herself backwards and off the side of the bed. She landed on her feet and stood still while Reiner and Bertolt collected themselves. Bertolt was still coughing, and Reiner was regarding him with confusion and did not seem to have noticed Annie. Once his coughing fit subsided, Bertolt rubbed his eyes and looked at Reiner, then past him at Annie. “A-Annie? When did you get here?” Reiner turned and saw Annie, then squinted curiously at her. She stared back at him without betraying anything.
“Just now,” Annie said, and sat down on the corner of the bed, “how are you feeling? I came in and you were coughing.”
Bertolt rubbed his throat, “I’m fine, I might’ve breathed in a piece of fuzz is all.”
Reiner seemed unconvinced by Annie’s explanation. “Did you really just walk in? I don’t remember hearing the door open.”
“You were distracted.”
“But –”
“Distracted.”
Kaylarx (Guest) on Chapter 1 Mon 20 Mar 2017 03:07AM UTC
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murderous_cottonbuds on Chapter 1 Sun 18 Oct 2020 05:48PM UTC
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