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There were many reasons Eren hated working at Subway.
1. He hated his co-workers. About 90% of them got on his nerves and made him want to strangle himself with his shoe strings, the other 10% were always on other shifts.
2. He worked 5 hours shifts and was making 11.55 hourly, two dollars under minimum wage. Karl Marx could make an example out of him.
3. There was at least one customer a day who had to scream at him. Like, sorry your life is miserable, but what the hell is the fucking sandwich guy supposed to do about that? He was in the trenches out here.
4. He worked at Subway.
And that was only the beginning. If he got into the nitty gritty, his list of reasons to quit working at this hell hole would be longer than his dick. Which is 8 feet long by the way. DON'T fact check that.
But he wouldn't quit, no, he couldn't quit. When his friends asked him why he would put himself through the torture of working at Subway when there were next to no benefits, he had to lie. Yes, Eren [redacted] Jaeger admits it, he was a liar. He lied when people asked why he stayed. He'd say it was for the money, he was saving up for college, that the customers were so kind, that his coworkers were the best people he'd ever met, or that he just loved working at Subway.
Wrong. Each of those were lies. He wouldn't work at Subway if he wanted money, he never thought far enough ahead to think about college, and he hated Subway with a passion. There was only one reason that Eren still worked at this awful place.
Eren's head whipped around as the the door chimes rung, alerting him of a new customer. His heart began to race as he smiled to himself and he tapped his feet all giddy-like. It was 12:00, the best time of the day. This was the only reason Eren could stand working there.
"Hi, Eren!" He stopped breathing for a moment. Hearing that angelic voice say his name always made him short-circuit. The ground beneath his feet could collapse and he wouldn't notice, not when every sense was honed in on his favorite boy the second he could see him.
"Hi, Armin!" Eren swooned with a wide and dopey smile. He was painfully obvious about his little crush.
Armin Arlert, the most beautiful, astounding, magnificent man to ever grace this earth. Eren remembered the first time he watched Armin walk through those very doors four months ago. He had been wearing a baby blue sweater-vest with a cream colored button up underneath and the most handsome brown slacks that made him look like a 50s magazine model. Ever since that moment Eren has been downright obsessed with that man.
Lucky for Eren, his man crush came in at 12:00 sharp. Every. Single. Day. Armin Arlert was the reason Eren hadn't handed in his apron like a traumatized war veteran handing over his gun. Even if Armin had never come back, Eren would wait at that Subway for him just in case. He swore on everything, even his mom, that there was not a damn thing better than getting to see Armin.
And nothing, nothing was better than getting to talk to him, even if all he did was take his order.
"How are you?" Armin asked, giving Eren his best toothy smile. Eren loved that smile.
He had the most gorgeous smile. His chubby cheeks, his lips that were somehow always moist and smooth, and that little gap between his front two teeth that just made Eren want to scream inside. He'd been blessing Eren with his smile more often now that he had his braces removed.
Eren remembers Armin excitedly leaning in to give him a better view of his mouth, the day he got them off. That memory was burned into his brain, he still thought about it time to time whenever he was having a rough day.
Eren thought he looked adorable with braces, but seeing him smile proudly and unashamed made Eren's heart throb so violently he thought he was going to have a heart attack.
"I'm doing okay." Lie. Huge lie. Eren was terrific. He couldn't be anything but terrific whenever he was within a 50 foot radius of Armin. Eren rested his head in his hand as he stared at his favorite blonde, "Reiner brought his pet rat in and it got to the mayo so we had to throw that out."
Armin chuckled and copied Eren's pose. Goodness gracious he looked breathtaking when he cupped his face like that. "At least it was the mayo. No one with good taste likes mayo," Armin beamed radiantly.
Eren melted, could anything about this boy get any better? "Exactly! It's not liquid or solid, it's too salty, and it has a sour aftertaste." Armin nodded, "Definitely the worst thing to be made."
Armin stood up straight and cracked his knuckles, looking over towards the door, "Maybe not the worst thing..."
Eren snorted, "What's worse than mayonnaise?"
"Hmm," Armin placed a finger on his chin like he had to think about it, "Maybe Subway employees that don't ask their customers what they would like to order."
Eren pouted, "What? You don't treasure your time with me like I do with you? You wound me Armin."
Eren was unashamed. Everything he did, he did with his chest puffed. Even though he meant the words he said, they came off almost sarcastic.
"My sincerest apologies to your feelings," Armin said with a bow, hair falling in front of his face, "but I have class in half an hour." He lifted his head back up and cringed as he tucked back pieces of his long blonde hair.
Eren wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch it. He wanted to tuck his golden hair behind his ears, run his fingers through it, and admittedly though embarrassingly, sniff it too.
"I should really cut my hair soon," Armin commented off-handedly, "It's getting bothersome."
Eren's jaw dropped, probably cracked the floor and all.
"But it's so pretty," Eren whined, "Long hair rarely looks good on guys, but it looks good on you!" Eren stammered, cause despite all his pining, it was just that, pining.
Hell, he wasn't even out as gay to most people! And he sure didn't want Armin avoiding Subway just cause Eren fucked up. Cause then where would he go?? Burger King??? Jean worked there and Eren wasn't sure he could live knowing Jean and Armin knew each other.
Armin blushed and carded his fingers through his delicate hair. Yeah, Eren wouldn't be able to live on if Armin cut it off.
"Thank you," Armin breathed with that beautiful grin returning, "That means a lot to me, Eren. I mean it. You know I-"
"Yo, have you seen my-" Reiner started before freezing, eyeing the scene before him suspiciously.
Both boys paused to look at Reiner, less than impressed by his interruption.
"Shit," Reiner said, "I'm an ally so don't get me wrong, just don't spend all day talking there or anything." Then Reiner blushed and took a second before continuing, "And don't... do it either. We got cameras like everywhere so please don't."
"Oh my God," Eren said under his breath, "We're not dating, don't make it weird."
"Hey!" Reiner put his hands up, "You're the one that talks about Armin like he's your-"
Eren wished he was clever enough to come up with something better to say, be he wasn't. "Shut the fuck up," He hissed and shoved Reiner.
Armin chuckled, a dainty hand covering his mouth in the cutest way possible. Reiner rolled his eyes and retreated into the break room where it was safe.
"So, I'm considered your boyfriend here?" Armin teased. Oh if only Armin knew what that did to Eren's poor little heart.
"Shut up and tell me your order," Eren was blushing like a madman.
"Shouldn't my boyfriend have my order memorized? I do come here every day," Armin drew his delicate fingers in circles across the countertop.
"So you don't come here to see me? Armin, how could you?" Eren feigned heartbreak. He slapped his hands over his heart and pretended to faint.
"Don't die on me!" Armin shouted back dramatically, "This is the only store willing to give me a daily discount!"
Eren sighed and shook his head, "Damn college students and their cheapness."
"Hey!" Armin said, taken aback, "I don't have to tip you, you know."
Eren whipped up Armin's sandwich faster than ever before, giving him a new personal record and the best time against the rest too.
Eren rung up the beautiful blonde and made grabby hands, "'Kay gimmie my tip."
Armin smirked and dug in his pocket before revealing he had nothing more. He leaned across the counter and pressed a chaste kiss to Eren's cheek.
Eren's whole world went white. The universe collapsed on itself all in one moment, all in one small kiss. Eren's life changed in an instant and he became a different man.
God, Eren didn't know what was better; the warmth of Armin's lips and how he could feel each and every ridge on them, or the small smile that Armin wore, pressed into Eren's cheek hard enough he could tell that the blonde had been waiting for this moment.
He wanted everything to stop. He never wanted this moment to end. All he wished for is that this would go on and on and on. He wasn't sure what he'd be able to do with himself if it didn't.
He probably didn't need it to anyways, by the time that Armin had pulled back, the touch of his lips had burned into Eren's very core. Like a film, it played out in his head over and over again.
Armin sprinted to the door before Eren even had the chance to process what was happening. He had one foot out the door when he turned to look back at Eren.
"You have to be crazy to come here every day just for the food," Armin smiled. He quickly closed the door and disappeared from Eren's line of sight.
Holy shit, he had to tell his coworkers about this.