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"I don't know what to do anymore!" Armin put his face in his hands and let out a moan.
"Maybe you should tell him you like him." Mikasa responded in front of him, taking a bite of her ice cream.
"But I already told him!"
"And what did he say?"
Armin groaned. "He said, 'Okay,' and nodded."
Mikasa watched as the blond man in front of her slid his arms down to rest against the table, still with his head down. He resembled a melting ice cream.
"What happened next?"
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He took my hand and walked me home."
"Those actions must mean something, don't you think? You don't hold hands with just anyone."
"He's always held my hand since we were 8."
"And he walks you home every day."
"But he's also done that every day since we started high school."
"And you think any friend always walks another friend home?"
"Eren says it's to make sure I always arrive safely." Armin looked at her desperately. "Besides, my house is on the way to his."
"Armin, I literally live with Eren, and he's never walked home with me. In fact, he never wants me to walk him."
"I'm sure he does it because he's a good friend."
Mikasa raised an eyebrow and looked at him seriously, sipping her ice cream, while Armin rolled his head in his arms, wailing.
"Eren's kind of an idiot, Armin. And I only say kind of because he's my brother. Otherwise, I'd tell you he's a complete idiot."
"I don't know, Mikasa. I think I should just forget about my stupid crush."
Mikasa sighed, wondering how much longer the two boys would continue to deny the obvious.
She chose to finish her ice cream before it melted.
The thing is, Eren and Armin had always been together. Ever since the day they met in elementary school, when a kid pushed Armin to the ground and Eren punched him. A call to his parents while they were both waiting outside the principal's office was all it took to cement their friendship.
"You shouldn't let them push you. Push him back."
"That kid is a fool. I don't like hitting, I would never push him."
Eren raised an eyebrow. "If you don't like it, then I will. I'll never let them touch you again."
And so it was. The dark-haired boy never broke his promise, walking Armin to the door of his various classes and even riding the bus together.
It was only a matter of time before Armin started developing feelings for him, realizing it in his first year of middle school when he felt his cheeks flush at the sight of Eren waiting for him at the door to walk with him, or when he began to long for the day to be over so they could hold hands on the school bus and rest his head on his shoulder.
He knew the blond's crush on the brunet was obvious. His friends had never failed to tease him when he was alone.
"I don't understand why you keep calling each other friends when it's obvious you're not," Sasha had once commented at lunch, only to be silenced when Eren returned with two drinks in his hands (one for Armin), and everyone clearly feigned dementia about the conversation in his absence.
Clearly, this same teasing went Eren's way, only the blond hadn't realized it, that Eren's feelings were almost as obvious, if not more so, than Armin's.
So much so that he enrolled in soccer after school only to leave at the same time as Armin after his drama club and continue hanging out with him.
So much so that Eren gave Armin a string bracelet with letter beads that spelled out his name, with a heart at the beginning and end. Eren wore an exact bracelet that spelled out Armin's name. He said he saw a craftsman who beat the price by making two instead of one. Mikasa saw him weaving them one night by the light of her lamp. She never said anything.
But they were both 15 now. Several years had passed, and all their friends were already used to their shenanigans. At one point, they had tried to push them together, but over time, they decided not to get involved anymore, clearly one more stubborn than the other. There is no one more blind than the person who doesn't want to see.
But from time to time, they still heard their rants.
Like when Armin was talking to Jean about wanting to confess because he liked Eren so much and he told him to just go for it, only to be talked to again about how much he was ignored and practically rejected, but that his actions toward him hadn't changed and that it made him feel confused because that's not how they should treat each other if they were just friends, right?
Then, in the middle of his speech, Armin made a decision.
"Maybe things need to change," he said, and Jean looked at him curiously.
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe I'm confused because I've never set a boundary between us."
"Armin, Eren is the biggest dumb of the dumbest. Lord Dumb. Dumb Maximum. I'm sure he's just being dumb as always."
"He doesn't like me!" Armin exclaimed, drawing a few glances from his fellow students, and turned his head away in embarrassment. "It's been three weeks since I told him. This isn't going to go on like this!"
"Armin, wait..."
"It's over!"
Elsewhere, soccer practice had already ended. Inside the changing room, several boys had already finished dressing, leaving only a few left. Eren was reeling from a conflict in his head and didn't trust any of his mutual friends with Armin to help him, and he was too embarrassed to ask Mikasa for advice, even though she was Armin's best friend and his sister. Eren took a deep breath and approached Reiner.
"Hey, Reiner, could you give me some advice, please?" Eren asked, placing his hand on the strap of his backpack, looking a little nervous.
"Anything, bro. What's up?" Reiner closed his locker door to pay attention to him.
"So, in a few days it'll be a month since I've been with Armin, and I don't know what to do to celebrate."
"I didn't know you had the guts to confess!" Reiner said in surprise, not that he was finally with Armin, but that Eren had told him his feelings. Reiner was almost certain he could spend his entire life following Armin around like a puppy and never say anything about liking him.
"I didn't," Eren whispered. "He was the one who confessed first."
"Oh, nice. He's brave, the little one." Of course, it hadn't been Eren.
"He is. And more." Eren's expression turned to the same bright look he had when he talked about Armin. "I need help planning something for our first month. Something special."
Bertolt, who was standing next to Reiner listening to the conversation, decided to intervene.
"You could buy him something that matches something of yours. Matching jewelry or matching accessories."
"We already have that." Eren showed the bracelet with the blond's name on his left hand. "I want it to be something more special than that." He deserves even more, considering he was the brave one to confess first."
"You could take him out to dinner," Reiner began. "Or cook him dinner at home. You've ever mentioned that you know his family, haven't you?" You could decorate his room with balloons and candles and have a romantic evening."
Eren blushed, catching the attention of both boys in front of him.
"You haven't had your first time yet, have you?" Bertolt asked.
"If so, decorating his room might be a good idea to take it a step further." Reiner nodded.
"A whole romantic evening."
The red on Eren's face deepened and he ducked his head, muttering something so low that not even Reiner and Bertolt in front of him could hear.
"Huh?" They both reacted in confusion.
"We haven't even had our first kiss yet."
Reiner's palm resonated throughout the room as it slammed against his forehead in disbelief, and Bertolt threw his head back with a snort. ONLY Eren Yeager could be this kind of person.
"Give him a stuffed animal, treat him to dinner, and finally give him a kiss, moron." Reiner complained.
"Being Armin, you've been together so long that I'm sure anything you do will be special," Bertolt said, trying to contain the situation.
"Just don't pull something out of your ass. Put in a little effort."
With that, Eren left the locker room, determined that the celebration of his one month with Armin should be a very special day for him. He deserved it. He was the most special boy he'd ever met, the cutest, the smartest, the kindest, and so on. If Eren could hand him the world with a bow, he would. Someday he would.
Eren stood under the threshold of the gate where he always waited for the blond at the exits, raising his arm excitedly when he spotted him emerging among his entire drama club group.
When Armin noticed him, in the same place as always at the same time, he looked nervously at Jean, tugging at his hoodie.
"There he is, Jean. What do I do?"
Jean just looked up at the sky and closed his eyes. "Stop being so dense, please."
"Who?"
"Both of you." With that, Jean patted him on the back and quickened his pace, heading in any direction that would get him away from the nervous wreck that was Armin.
Heart racing, Armin approached Eren, who simply took his backpack from him and held out his hand for him to take.
"Hey, Armin. How was your class?" Eren asked, gesturing to start walking.
"Hey, Eren. Um." God, this was so awkward. "Yeah, I can't go with you today. I'm going to Marco's... M-Marco's house! Yeah, Marco." Armin laughed uncomfortably. "We have a science project together."
"Oh, that's okay. I can walk you to his house." Eren turned to look at him, and Armin automatically shook his hands, not knowing what to do.
"No need! Marco's house is on the other side, you'll get sidetracked." Armin reached out to take his backpack and sling it over his back. "See you tomorrow!"
And with that, he turned as fast as he could and ran in the opposite direction, not letting Eren contradict him again.
Armin walked for 30 more minutes so he could get home and make sure he didn't run into Eren on the way.
Eren walked sadly and confused. It was the first time in years they hadn't walked home together. He clasped his hands in front of him and looked at the bracelet on his wrist, wishing it was the blond's hand holding his.
The next day, his pre-lunch class ended a few minutes early, giving him time to sneak off to the cafeteria and avoid having to figure out how to escape Eren waiting for him at the door.
A few minutes after the bell rang, his friends were already sitting with him in their designated booth, Mikasa to his right with Jean, Connie, and Sasha in front of them. The conversation was in full swing when Eren arrived and sat next to Armin as usual.
He placed his tray on the table and reached for one of the two drinks he was carrying, only to realize that Armin had bought his today. He decided to ignore it; he was probably just thirsty and bought it early.
"You didn't tell me your class ended early," Eren commented quietly, taking a bite of his burger.
"Oh, yeah. That's it. We left early, and I was really hungry. I forgot." Armin took a big bite of his chicken to avoid continuing.
Everyone at the table looked at each other, uncomfortable and confused by their strange behavior. Normally, they acted like a lovey-dovey couple. Today, they felt distant.
The conversation at the table continued, and although they noticed that Armin wasn't exactly addressing Eren, no one could ignore the shy glances he gave the brunet when he knew he wasn't looking.
Armin quickly finished his food and stood up from the table, his chair squeaking as he dragged it back so hard.
"I'll go ahead, guys," he said, and Eren immediately began gathering his things as well.
"Wait a second, I'll walk you there."
"No need! Bye-bye!" Armin interrupted and quickly said goodbye, practically running away from him again.
"What's up with him?" Connie raised an eyebrow.
Everyone at the table looked at each other and decided to ignore what had just happened, but it was obvious to everyone.
Armin was avoiding Eren.
At the end of the day, Armin once again made up an excuse to keep Eren from joining him. He also made another excuse at the next lunch break, and the next end of the day, and so on.
By Thursday, Eren was fed up—and hurt, to be honest. They had been best friends for years, and now Armin wouldn't speak to him.
He didn't understand.
With the trust they had, couldn't he possibly be able to tell him whatever was going through his mind?
Did he not want to be with him anymore?
Had he done something wrong?
Eren was determined. He slipped out of his pre-lunch class to wait for Armin outside his homeroom. He wasn't going to let him continue to avoid him. And he could confirm this when, right in front of him, he witnessed Armin also slip out of his classroom minutes before the bell rang, coming to terms with the reason for his escapes.
"Armin." Eren stared at him. "Can you tell me what's going on?"
The blond didn't know what to reply. He was foolish enough to think his plan would continue to work for long.
"Oh. Nothing. They let me out of class early, I'm going to the infirmary." He couldn't even look at his face to respond. He knew the pink in his cheeks would betray his lie.
"You're lying."
Maybe he didn't need to see his blush to realize it. Eren had known him for years, after all.
The brunet reached out and placed his hand on his forehead, just below his bangs, and Armin became even more embarrassed, unable to hold his gaze for more than a second before directing it forward to the floor.
"You don't have a fever, and you don't look bad," Eren continued. "Please tell me what's wrong."
"I already told you, I'm going to the infirmary," Armin assured him. "My head hurts a little, I just want to rest."
"You're lying. Why are you doing this?"
Eren's voice no longer held just anger, but sadness. He recognized it quickly, and Armin felt doubly bad.
But he didn't want to tell him, he couldn't.
He had already been rejected by his lack of response. Speaking now was too late. And, even though it hurt, he knew that distancing himself from Eren was what he had to do. Otherwise, the pain of his broken heart would take even longer to heal.
Armin couldn't continue seeing Eren as just a friend, not when he treated him so well and his company felt like home.
If he didn't get rid of these feelings as soon as possible, he knew that later on, he wouldn't be able to resume his friendship with him without ruining it again.
Even if it was awkward and hurt a little for now, he knew it was for the best.
"I'm not lying." Armin took his hand and moved it away from his forehead to rest it on his side and retreat. "My head hurts. I just want to lie down."
"Armin..."
"See you later, Eren," Armin interrupted and started walking.
Jean and Reiner, who had met by chance in the hallway, watched with amusement the conversation taking place far away from them, trying to hide among the students leaving their classes for lunch.
"Those two are a dilemma, aren't they?" Jean says.
"Really," Reiner replies. "I can't believe it's taken so many years to see them like this."
"And how many more years will it take before they realize it?"
They both remain silent, watching as Eren and Armin seemingly argue, as Eren places a hand on his forehead and Armin rejects him.
"Oh, young love," Reiner reacts. "This must be their first fight. How crazy."
"Yeah. It's the first time I've seen them fight in all the years I've known them. But I saw it coming; Armin couldn't let himself get his hopes up for Eren anymore." Jean mutters, and Reiner looks at him confused.
"Get his hopes up? Eren is head over heels in love with Armin. He's been pestering me this week with gift ideas for their first month?"
"Their first month?" Jean turned around, eyes wide. "But they're not together?"
"What? Eren told me they've been together since Armin confessed to him a month ago." Reiner made a confused face.
"Yes. Armin confessed, and Eren didn't say anything! He assumed he just didn't reciprocate."
"But Eren said he did reciprocate!"
"Eren said 'Okay'!"
They both watched as Armin left Eren standing in the middle of the hallway, and the dark-haired boy's annoyed expression at being ignored once. Now, with clear reason, their different attitudes toward each other made more sense.
"For having known each other for so long, those two don't know how to talk." Reiner shook his head.
"Indeed," Jean agreed. "And Eren is a big idiot."
Clearly, Eren was done. He wasn't going to let Armin ignore him any longer. It had been three long days without the blond approaching him, and he wasn't going to allow this matter to drag on any longer.
He had to know if the next day he was going to spend the afternoon on the romantic date he had planned for Armin for their first month together, or crying in his sheets for being dumped.
At the end of it all, he just wanted to know why Armin was ignoring him, the person he loved most in the world after his family. He had grown up with him, always imagined growing old with him, and now he couldn't even look at him.
Eren was going to confront him once and for all.
Once the dismissal bell rang, Eren ran toward the school gates and hid in the crowd so as not to be obviously noticed. When he spotted the blond, he ran quickly and grabbed his wrist, pulling him to the side of the enormous courtyard where they wouldn't be interrupted by the stampede of students.
Armin tried to loosen his grip, but Eren was determined to talk to him and didn't relent until they reached the canopy of a huge tree for some privacy.
"You're going to tell me right now what's going on," Eren demanded.
"Nothing's happening-"
"Don't give me that! You're ignoring me!"
Armin looked to the side, not wanting to see him. His heart began to beat so hard he felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. He didn't want to confront him, but he knew this was going to be the moment when the bond of their friendship was finally going to break.
"I think it's best if we distance ourselves from each other," the blond finally whispered.
Eren felt his breath stop and all the color went from his face, pale. It was what he had been fearing most: Armin was breaking up with him.
"Why do you think that? Did I do something to upset you?" Eren asked with worry.
"You didn't do anything, Eren. That's it. I think it's the best thing for me."
"But why?" Eren raised his voice, but quickly controlled himself, not wanting to upset Armin further. "Why would you think being apart from me would be best for you? Let's work things out!"
"It's not something we can just fix and continue... acting like this! Together! It makes me feel bad!" He felt Armin's voice crack and felt a stab in his chest as he couldn't stop the pain from happening.
"But tell me what I did that made you feel bad so I don't act like that again! You don't have to break up with me!" Eren begged
"It's everyth-! Wait, what?" Armin stopped himself and looked at him in confusion.
"Let's work things out. I don't want to break up, I want to be with you!" Eren continued.
"Break up? Wait, Eren, what are you talking about?" Armin’s brows furrowed, his voice rising in disbelief. The words felt like they’d been pulled from a completely different conversation.
"So you don't want to break up with me? You need time? Space? Just tell me and I'll give it to you, but don't break up with me."
Eren looked around, desperately searching the air for something to say, with a determination to try to fix things. "This isn't like you, Armin. You can be mad at me, you can yell at me, but just disappearing? Not telling me what's wrong? That's… it feels like you're done with me."
Armin blinked at him, trying to make sense of the spiral of Eren's words. "Done with you? I—" He shook his head, half-confused, half-frustrated. "Eren, I was avoiding you because—ugh, never mind. You're not making sense."
Eren's jaw tightened, trying to get the words to come out clearly through the lump in his throat. "I just… I can't lose you, Armin. If you want me to back off, I will. If you need space, I'll give it to you. But—" he swallowed hard, "don't break up with me."
"Wow. Wait. What do you mean, break up with me? How could I break up with you with something we don't have?" Armin went from confused to angry in a flash. Eren just had to be joking. What the hell was wrong with him?
"Now you're denying me? You were the one who confessed, and now you're telling me you're not with me?"
What?
"I confessed and you didn't tell me anything! What are you talking about?"
"I told you 'Okay'! I accepted your feelings, we're supposed to be together!"
They stood in silence staring at each other.
Armin breathed out hard.
Oh.
Oh.
He blinked once, twice, his mouth opening and closing as the pieces of Eren’s rambling started clicking together in the dumbest way possible. His shoulders relaxed, all the fight draining out of him, and he pressed a hand over his face.
A sound bubbled in his throat, and before he could stop it, it spilled out into the open. It started small, but quickly grew into a laugh so loud and unrestrained it echoed off the courtyard walls, earning a few startled looks from passing students.
Eren stood there, red creeping up his ears, his expression caught between offended and confused. "What are you laughing at?! First you ignore me, and now you're making fun of me?"
Armin wiped away a tear that fell from his right eye, and he stood tall again after having doubled over from laughing. "Eren, we're not together! That day I thought you didn't like me, and that's why you ignored my confession."
"But I like you too, I thought it was obvious! That's why I said, 'Okay,'"
"That's not reciprocating, idiot!" Armin complained. "I've been thinking all these weeks that you just ignored what I said so as not to damage our friendship."
"What friendship? I've always liked you! I've spent these weeks thinking we'd already made things official!"
Eren and Armin stared at each other, before looking away, embarrassed.
"I think I should have answered you with a few more words, shouldn't I?" Eren finally muttered.
"Yeah, you should have been clearer," Armin declared.
The gentle breeze blew, causing some of Armin's long hair to dance across his face. At that, Eren took a step forward to tuck the strands behind his ears.
At that moment, with Armin's cute face in his hands, Eren decided it was the perfect moment. He caressed his cheeks with his thumbs, bringing his face a little closer.
The blond didn't reject his gesture. With bated breath, Armin closed his eyes and let it happen. Eren closed the space between their faces and finally placed a soft kiss on his lips.
"Is this clear enough for you?" Eren whispered as he pulled away, only for Armin to laugh and then lunge at the other.
A few minutes passed before they broke apart, reluctantly, but they knew they shouldn't be kissing like that on school grounds.
Eren took Armin's backpack off his back and slung it over his shoulder. Then he held his hand out, palm up, a silent question in the curve of his fingers.
For a second, Armin just looked at it, at the bracelet spelling out his own name, the hand that had been waiting for his all along. Then, unlike the previous days, he reached for it without hesitation, weaving their fingers together until they fit the way they always had. And they both felt everything fall back into place.
In their distraction, Eren and Armin didn't notice their group of friends watching the scene from a distance, letting out a chorus of "Finally" when they saw the brunet kiss the blonde.
"I can't believe how long it took them," Sasha blurted, leaning on Connie.
"I'm more surprised they were so oblivious to each other's feelings," Reiner commented, and Bertolt nodded.
"They should learn to talk to each other," Marco said.
"That won't help while Smart Armin is in a relationship with Dumb Eren." Jean shook his head.
Mikasa simply smiled silently. Fucking finally.