Work Text:
Eren let out a groan as he stretched his hands up, definitely not prepared to face the hoards of screaming children, the impatient soccer moms, the apathetic teenagers. Working at Lakeside Amusement Park was a rite of passage for teens in the area, and he was no exception. It was in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, but people still visited. He only wished that he'd gotten assigned to work the log ride with Mikasa, and not the food stand with Jean and Connie.
Connie slapped him on the back, a grin on his face. "You ready for the summer, dude?"
"Hell no," Eren muttered.
It was really a mystery as to why anyone wanted to even visit Lakeside. They had four roller coasters, all of which were decent, but not exciting. The other rides were a mixed bag, and chances were that at least two would be out of order on any given day. Riding the ski lift across the park might end up in death because of how rickety it was, honestly. The water rides always smelled like hot garbage and so did the lake itself.
But it was a job, and it paid decent money, so Eren dutifully showed up. Connie and Jean were fine enough company, even though Jean had the tendency to piss Eren off. The food stand gave him a view of the arcade, which was often deserted, meaning that he had little stimulation in between customers. He went through the motions, ringing customers up and helping Connie and Jean make food when necessary.
At the end of his first week of work, though, something happened.
Well—someone happened.
Eren had just had a highly unpleasant interaction with a dad who claimed that the pizza he'd been served was burnt when he walked past the food stand.
Eren noticed his hair first—the strange, straw-like hair that fell just past the boy's chin. He wore thick rimmed glasses, a school theatre shirt, and cargo shorts. Despite his horrible fashion sense, Eren had to admit that he was kinda cute. Eren had never seen him before, which wasn't out of the ordinary, seeing as it was an amusement park, but the boy had to be about Eren's age, and didn't seem to be with anyone else.
Eren watched curiously as the boy went over to the Dance Dance Revolution machine that hadn't been used in years at this point. He dropped a few coins in, started it up, and—holy shit he hadn't expected that kid to be able to move like that. It was actually kinda impressive, Eren had to admit. He was definitely playing on the hardest setting, and Eren could barely keep up with the way his feet moved.
"Who the hell is that?" Eren asked to Connie, jerking his head in the direction of the DDR boy.
"No idea," Connie remarked, poking his head out and staring. Eren smacked his back. "Ow!"
"Don't fuckin' stare!" Eren growled as Connie rubbed the spot where Eren had hit him.
"Well, you asked me to look," Connie huffed, folding his arms angrily.
"Not like that," Eren insisted. "Not like that. Just wanted to know if you recognized him from somewhere."
"You got a crush or something?" Jean called from back near the fryers.
"Shut up," Eren snarled, feeling the tips of his ears flush with heat.
Connie gave Eren a knowing look, who turned back to his station at the cash register with a huff. They were so utterly useless.
Eren continued to watch as the boy played DDR, thoroughly impressed by his stamina and ability. After exactly three hours, he hopped off the machine and walked past the food stand, face red and hair a tad sweaty.
Still cute, though, Eren thought. Still cute.
He really hoped that DDR Boy would become a regular at the park. He'd take anything at this point.
-
And, because luck had finally decided to be on Eren's side, DDR Boy showed up the next day. And the next. Like clockwork, the boy would show up, play for exactly three hours, then leave.
Eren felt overjoyed.
-
After five days of watching DDR Boy from the food stand, there was finally a change in routine.
Eren was manning the cash register like usual, staring at DDR Boy's inhuman footwork, when suddenly DDR Boy turned, picked up his backpack, and began to head towards Eren.
Blue eyes. DDR Boy had the brightest blue eyes.
Eren knew this because he was looking right into them. "Shit!" he exclaimed, startling DDR Boy. "Sorry, uh, how can I help you?"
"Hi." A bead of sweat ran down DDR Boy's neck. "Can you swap this ten for quarters?"
"Y-yeah, sure," Eren told him, taking the crumpled bill from DDR Boy. Normally, he'd balk at such a ridiculous request, but...
"You're really good at DDR," Eren remarked as he began to count quarters for the other boy.
"Ah. Thanks," DDR Boy said. "I've been playing since I was a kid."
"Makes sense." Eren cleared his throat. "What's your name?"
"Armin."
"Nice." He had 5.50 in quarters so far. "I haven't seen you around town. Are you from here?"
"No. My grandpa just retired and moved to the area, so I'm spending the summer here."
"Gotcha, gotcha." He dropped a quarter on the ground and took his time picking it up. "I've lived here all my life."
"Do you like it here?"
"S'alright. I wanna get out and see the world a little bit, though."
"I totally understand," said Armin with a smile so cute that Eren nearly lost his count. "How's working here?"
Eren snorted. "It pays. The customers are so-so. It's kind of boring, to be honest." Well, mostly boring. Eren had found himself entertained enough watching Armin. But he was absolutely not going to tell Armin that.
"That makes sense."
"Here you go." Eren pushed the pile of quarters toward Armin, who scooped them up into his backpack.
"Thanks, Eren!" Another smile.
The use of his name left Eren taken aback before he realized that he had a name tag on. Eren shook himself and watched as Armin skipped back over to the DDR machine.
Oh, he was in trouble.
Eren already liked Armin and he'd only spoken with him for no more than five minutes.
-
As time went on, Armin drifted over to the food stand more and more often, dooming Eren even more.
Armin Arlert, as Eren came to learn, was a bit of an oddball with a pretty face. He liked everything nerdy, which meant they had a few things in common. But Armin definitely took it to another level than Eren, if the cosplay photos that Eren had glimpsed when Armin scrolled through his camera roll were any indication.
Armin wanted to study oceanography in college, which Eren didn't even know existed until Armin explained it to him. He took school incredibly seriously. He did debate team, and had won a few competitions, despite his awkward demeanor.
Eren found himself swooning over the other boy. They got along easily enough, and Eren thought that Armin was so cute. It was rare that Eren found himself blushing because of another person, but Armin managed to make him red without even trying.
There were a few problems, though. Eren didn't know if Armin liked boys in the same way that Eren did. Eren also had very little romantic experience, and had no idea how to even go about asking Armin out.
On Armin's third week visiting the park, he mysteriously found that the DDR's coin insert had been overridden by a master key. He turned to look over at Eren, who gave him a wide grin and a thumbs up.
"Thanks for that," Armin told him later that day.
Eren shrugged, intent to play off his act coolly. "No problem. You're like the only one that plays, so management definitely isn't paying attention to the machine."
"You didn't have to be so nice. I really appreciate it," Armin insisted, making Eren nearly lose his act because the other boy looked so damn happy.
-
As the summer reached its apex, Eren wasn't the only one frustrated by his inability to make a move. He'd talked Jean's, Connie's, and Mikasa's ears off about Armin, and they were all fed up with his antics.
"Eren," Jean huffed, flicking his gaze towards Armin, who was focused on DDR, "if you don't ask him out, I will."
"What the hell!" Eren exclaimed, drawing the ire of a mom walking with her two kids. "You can't do that!"
"I'll fuckin' do it," Jean threatened. "You get off soon, don't you? Just ask him to hang out with you after your shift. He'll inevitably come up to talk to you in ten minutes."
"I don't even know," Eren began, then dropped his voice low, "if he likes boys."
Jean rolled his eyes and laughed. "Dude. Dude. We're looking at the same guy, right? He's into you. Trust me."
"I can't trust you," Eren muttered.
But, sure enough, Armin made his way over to the food stand in exactly ten minutes.
"Hi!" Armin exclaimed. "Anything exciting happen?"
Eren shrugged. "Some lady got pissed that we didn't have veggie pizza. We've never made that. Ever. How was DDR?"
"Good. I'm on my way to being the top player on every song." Armin gave Eren a bashful smile. Eren nervously gripped the counter.
"Damn. You're amazing."
Armin waved his hand in front of his face. "It's not hard when you're like, the only person who plays DDR at this park."
"I've never seen anyone as good as you, though." Eren paused, chewing on his lip briefly. "I get off in like a half hour, would you wanna hang out for a bit afterwards?"
Armin nodded so vigorously that his glasses slid down the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, sure!"
"Great. I can show you around the park a bit, if you'd want?"
"I'd like that," Armin said, stepping out of the way as a father with a stroller walked up to the stand.
The next half-hour went by quickly, and soon enough, Eren was throwing a hoodie over his head and waving good-bye to Jean and Connie. Armin had loitered by the stand the whole time, but he looked visibily excited as Eren left the stood stand. "I gotta go clock out at the main entrance, but we can walk together."
"Okay!"
They walked together in silence for a bit. Eren internally panicked as Armin looked around the park. Somehow, it all felt more real with just him and Armin around.
"Are you sure you're not gonna get hot in that?" Armin asked him, eyeing Eren's hoodie.
"Nah. S'fine. The sun's gonna start setting soon, anyway."
After Eren clocked out, he dragged Armin over to the Iron Tiger, his favorite roller coaster at the park. "It's fun. And safe. I promise," Eren told him. "Safest coaster in the park, actually."
"I believe you," Armin laughed. "Let's go on it, then."
Armin laughed instead of screamed on the ride, and Eren thought that Armin's laugh was just the best thing in the world.
They spent the whole evening together—Armin convinced Eren to try DDR (which he failed at, miserably) and Eren convinced Connie and Jean to give them burgers, fries, and a drink for free (Jean had winked at Eren when he said he could only give them one cup). They sat at a picnic table that was in the corner of the park, away from prying eyes. Eren watched as Armin carefully dipped a fry into ketchup, then popped it into his mouth.
"How's your grandpa?" Eren asked after he realized that he'd been staring at Armin.
"He's doing well. I think he's settling into the area. It's way nicer than the city for him."
"That's good. I'd say we are better than the city," Eren teased, knowing that Armin lived in the city, too.
"You are." Armin sighed. "Honestly, if I didn't have only a year left of high school, I'd ask to transfer here."
"You really hate it there, don't you?"
"Hate might be a strong word, but I certainly don't like it very much." Armin crinkled his nose. "Can't wait for college. Ugh."
"I feel ya. It's not bad here, but I wanna get out and see the world a little bit, y'know?"
Armin nodded. "I understand."
After they finished eating, Armin managed to persuade Eren into getting on the ski lift, even with Eren's doubts about the structural integrity of the ride. "If we die, I blame you," he teased, tightly gripping the safety bar in front of him as they ascended.
"That'll be alright," Armin replied. "I wouldn't be offended."
Eren looked down at the park, then shook his head. "I'll haunt you, even in the afterlife. I have too many things I've gotta accomplish before dying."
"What's on your list?"
"Wanna leave the country. Go backpacking somewhere. Go skydiving—"
"But the ski lift is too scary?" Armin teased.
"Shut up." Eren laughed. "This thing is two seconds away from collapsing, and you know it."
"Anyway. Continue."
"I think I wanna do social work, even though I accidentally cuss too much in front of the kids here. Wanna make a difference out there." He paused, his face feeling warm. "Never told anyone about that before."
Armin hummed next to him. "Why not?"
"I..." Eren trailed off as he considered the question. "I think that most people think I'm too brash for that type of work."
"I think that you can do it," Armin murmured.
Feeling a bit vulnerable, Eren didn't know what to say next, so he continued down on his list. "And I'd like to buy a new truck, since mine's rusted to shit."
"You are a country boy, aren't you."
"Born and raised. Gotta find my special person, too," Eren said, then glanced briefly at Armin before hurriedly looking away.
"Well. If we survive this ski lift, I'm sure your dreams will come true."
Eren opened his mouth to reply, but the lift jerked, causing them both to lurch forward. He squeaked, heart racing, and Armin giggled; Eren cursed underneath his breath.
They survived, somehow, and Eren felt grateful for that. The two walked around for awhile, but Armin checked the time and let Eren know that he needed to catch the last bus back into town. Eren walked Armin over to the gates of the park, near the bus stop.
"I'll see you later," Eren offered up awkwardly, shoving his hands into his hoodie.
Armin nodded, then rolled his bottom lip through his teeth. He met Eren's eyes, then he dropped his gaze to Eren's lips. It made Eren's breath catch. Was Armin—?
But then Armin met Eren's eyes again and smiled. "Yeah. Have a good night. Bye!"
Armin turned and ran off to catch his bus, leaving Eren to stand and stare off into space. He kept replaying their last moment together, thinking about the way that Armin had looked at him.
He wanted to kiss Armin so badly.
-
A few days later, Eren passed a water bottle to Armin.
"So, how's the summer been for you?" Eren asked.
"Good," Armin told him. "Really good. Uh, I need the receipt."
"Oh, sorry," Eren said, reaching over and tearing off the receipt for Armin.
"Thank you." Armin stepped aside to let a family order drinks and food, which distracted Eren for a few minutes.
"When are you leaving?" Eren asked once the family had gotten their order filled.
"Next Sunday," said Armin. Eren forced himself not to frown.
"Damn. I dunno what I'm gonna do without you here," he joked, smiling awkwardly at Armin, who gave him a similar smile back.
"I'm sure you'll survive."
Eren shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. Goddamnit, Eren, he thought, just say something!
"Well, I'll see you later!" Armin exclaimed, then ever-so-slowly reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear.
Eren's eyes immediately darted to a rubber bracelet that Armin wore around his wrist. It was rainbow, and Eren swore he'd never seen that on Armin before. Armin twisted his wrist, making sure that Eren saw it.
He swallowed. He made eye contact with Armin, whose smile became toothy, then shoved the receipt back into Eren's hands before he turned on his feet and scampered away. "Bye!" Armin called.
"Bye," Eren whispered, still trying to catch a glimpse of the rainbow bracelet that Armin had been wearing. He didn't realize that Armin had given him his receipt until Armin disappeared from his line of vision.
Armin had scrawled something at the bottom. Hey, the note read, can we still be friends after I leave? It listed Armin's phone number and snapchat. Eren narrowed his eyes, looked at the thinning crowd around him, and pulled out his phone. He couldn't take his chances and lose the receipt—he punched in Armin's number immediately.
Eren
Its Eren Yeager, yes we can still be friends
Armin
This is Armin. Yay! :)
Eren
Im having an end of the summer bonfire at my house this Friday wanna come? I can pick u up
Armin
Sure that sounds nice!
Eren
Kk. also I liked the bracelet u were wearing today
Armin
Oh thank you :) sometimes I wanna show my pride, yk?
Eren
Yeah I know. I super know
He turned his phone over before any of the park attendees could complain, a massive grin on his face. Eren couldn't wait until Friday.
-
Eren felt nervous as he pulled his beat-up truck in front of Armin's grandfather's house. He sent Armin a quick text, then tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he waited.
The front door swung open, and out hopped Armin, dressed in blue jeans and a light pink shirt—probably the cutest outfit that Eren had ever seen him in.
"Oh, your truck isn't that bad," Armin remarked when he jumped into the passenger seat. "I like the red color."
"Thanks. Uh, sorry there's no radio, we don't get service out here," said Eren as he drove away.
"No problem." Wind blew in from the open windows, sending Armin's hair flying in front of his face. Eren found himself ever slightly so distracted by his Armin pulled hair off his lips.
By the time they got to Eren's house, some of his friends had already arrived. Mikasa gave Eren a knowing look as he planted himself next to Armin on one of the benches he'd set out.
He watched as Connie and Marco lit the fire. Normally, Eren would be all over getting the fire started, but tonight, he felt content enough to sit next to Armin. He introduced Armin to some of his friends who didn't work at Lakeside, like Ymir and Historia, and also picked out a stick for Armin to roast marshmallows with. Armin's hands lingered over his own when Armin took the stick from him.
Eren's whole body jittered throughout the night. Armin seemed so happy, and Eren wanted to lean in and kiss him. He figured that would not go down well in front of his friends—Armin might get too flustered. But from all the signals that Armin had sent him over the night, it seemed like the interest was mutual. That calmed Eren's worries, but made him all the more impatient for when the time would be right.
As the night got later and later, Eren's friends began to trickle out. Eventually, just Eren and Armin were left, staring into the fire with glazed eyes. Eren grew more and more cognizant of the fact that he really needed to make a move sooner than later. He felt his pulse quicken as he scooted closer on the bench next to Armin.
The other boy leaned into him, which made butterflies take off in Eren's stomach. Eren looked over at Armin and found expectant blue eyes turned to him.
"I like you," Eren confessed, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders once he'd gotten the words out.
"I like you too," Armin whispered, the flame from the fire flickering in his eyes. "Can I kiss you?"
Eren hadn't ever been asked that question before, so he found himself nodding vigorously. "Yeah," he eventually forced out, fluttering his eyes closed as Armin reached out and placed a hand on the back of his neck.
Armin's lips were soft, and moved with far more precision than Eren had expected. Eren could taste the hint of marshmallow on his lips; they were still slightly sticky in certain areas. When the two separated, Armin's hand stayed steady on the back of Eren's neck.
"I wanna make this work," Eren breathed. "No matter the distance."
"Me, too," Armin murmured, resting his head in the crook of Eren's shoulder. "Me, too."