Chapter 5
Armin
As he got up from his bed, he took in a heavy sigh and stared out the window. How could I be so stupid? Armin internally yelled at himself. How could he just do that to Eren? This whole week, he and Eren had been avoiding each other and it was all because of that stupid kiss.
Why had he kiss Eren again? Oh right, because he has a big ass crush on him, and for a long time too.
He couldn’t help it, Eren had the kindest smile that would always make his heart race, and the most beautiful green eyes. And his laugh was more beautiful than any instrument.
God, I love him.
Armin loved Eren like a best friend, like someone he couldn’t live without, but it quickly grew to be more than that. He loved him so much it hurt. Ever since he and Jean had broken up, it was always Eren that was there when he really needed it.
Why was it so hard to confront him about it? He sighed and went to the bathroom, brushing his teeth. He knew he’d have to figure something out, and soon.
As he got out, he willed his mind to change the topic. He actually looked forward to work today. As spastic as Hanji was, she was fun to be around. He quite liked her energy. Armin grabbed his phone to check the time and stopped to smile at his wallpaper. He will remember that moment for the rest of his life.
The picture was taken years ago when they were 13. Mikasa had taken the picture. It was of the day they had first met. The day Armin finally had the courage to say hello, and Eren finally acknowledged him. Armin felt tears forming in his eyes and quickly wiped them away with the back of his sleeve.
Armin put the phone in his pocket and sighed. He turned to look at Eren, who was still sleeping and grabbed a pillow to hit Eren with. Startled, Eren screamed as he fell off the bed.
"Armin!" He yelled. Armin laughed and shrugged innocently.
"If you’re going to be working under Levi, it would be wise to not be late. Go get dressed and we can go in your car." Eren’s eyes widened at the realization and he jumped up to go use the bathroom.
Armin grabbed a grey shirt and some dark grey jeans. A grey beanie finished the look. He didn’t usually wear grey but he figured now would be a good time as any. He grabbed his necklace and bracelet on the shelf and slipped on his shoes.
"Eren, let’s go! Are you driving or am I?" Armin's voice echoed through the room.
"No way am I letting you behind the wheel of my baby! I’m driving!" He yelled from the bathroom.
Armin snorts.
“I’m a better driver than you, Eren.”
“I don’t care! No means no, Ar!” Eren argued as Armin chuckled.
As Eren came out, Armin held his breath. Eren looked so good in black . He was wearing Armin's beanie and the necklace Armin bought him for his 19th birthday. Armin's heart warmed.
"Alright! Let's go." Eren took the key from Armin and walked towards the door. Eren turned back around at the sound of heels clicking on the floor. Mikasa was striding up to the two of them.
"Oh, hey Mikasa-" Armin said.
She punched both Eren and Armin in the arm and they both winced. She glared at them.
"Mika, what-?"
"Don't 'Mika' me. Are you guys dating?" Armin's eyes widened.
Did she see the kiss?
"What are-?" She punched Eren in the arm again and he winced.
"Don't give me that 'What are you talking about' crap. I saw you guys kissing." Eren sighed and as he opened his mouth to explain, Armin interrupted.
"I kissed Eren because it was the only way to calm him down." Mikasa walked towards him and searched his eyes for any traces of lies but found none. It was partially true, at least.
She sighed. "Then why didn't you tell me?"
"It just happened the other day, it wasn't really that big of a deal." Mikasa nodded and pinched the bridge of her nose. She turned to both Eren and Armin.
"Just please tell me if anything like that happens, okay? I thought we were open with each other about everything."
"We are. We were going to tell you." Armin reassured. Mikasa nodded again.
"Okay. Think you guys could give me a ride? I can't seem to find my car keys."
"Of course." They walked to the car and headed off to work.
Eren
As Eren walked towards the car, he noticed that the awkwardness between him and Armin had completely disappeared. He stopped at a red light and turned to Armin. He never really thought about how it much it must have been effecting Armin.
“Hey, Armin?” Armin turned to Eren.
“Hm?”
“I’m sorry.” Armin raised an eyebrow.
“For what?”
“For ignoring you, avoiding you and not understanding,” Eren said, apologetically. Armin gave him a warm smile.
“Actually Eren, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kissed you. Or not tell you why I did it.” Eren smiled back at Armin until he got smacked in the arm by Mikasa.
“Ow-”
“Pay attention to the road! It’s a green light!”
“Dictator.” He mumbled under his breath and Armin laughed.
“What?” Mikasa questioned.
“Nothing.” He chimed.
For the first time in a week, it wasn’t awkward. Things had gone back to the way they were supposed to be.
As the trio stepped out of the car, Eren felt his gut tighten, anxious. He didn’t know what kind of boss Levi would be.
“Don’t worry, it’s really not that bad being his assistant. Just don’t mix up papers. He chewed Sasha out for that last week. Just do as you’re told and you’ll be on Levi’s good side.” Mikasa explained.
Eren smiled. Times like these made him realize how lucky he was to have a sister like Mikasa.
“Thanks, Mika.”
“Anytime.”
As Eren walked towards the elevator, he glanced at the clock and noticed he was 15 minutes early for work. When he made it to Levi’s office, he found that all the lights were off.
He must not be here yet. He thought to himself. He figured it wouldn’t hurt to get himself a cup of coffee, and walked towards the employee lounge. He grabbed a cup and poured himself a cup of the black liquid. A splash of cream and a generous scoop of sugar followed.
“Oi, Brat. Do you really have to kill your coffee with that much sugar?” Eren let out a soft yip, startled and turned to see a smirking Levi. Was it just today or did Levi always look this good in a suit? He felt his heart speed up and a blush crept up onto his face
“I-I always add this much sugar, Sir.” Levi rolled his eyes.
“Typical of brats. Get me a coffee. I’ll be in my office.”
Eren did what he was told.
Despite his earlier discontent, Eren found that assisting Levi wasn’t all that different from assisting Erwin. The whole day had just been running around getting Levi coffee, delivering various documents to people and printing papers for him. It really wasn’t that hard.
“Oi, send these papers to the receptionist downstairs. Tell her to transfer it to the computer.” Eren nodded and walked over to the elevator, then pressed the third floor’s button and waited. Some obnoxiously cheerful music played. God, he really hated elevator music. As he walked towards the reception desk, he noticed a very familiar blonde.
“Krista?” Eren called hopefully. She looked up to see Eren and her eyes widened.
“Eren? Is that really you?” She smiled and ran to hug Eren. “I haven’t seen you since high school!” Eren smiled back.
“You look so beautiful!” Eren said, looking her up and down . She blushed brightly.
“Thank you! You look quite wonderful yourself!” Eren found himself also blushing at the compliment. He scratched the back of his neck and smiled.
“So, how’s Ymir doing?” Krista’s gaze dropped.
“W-we broke up,” She said, fiddling with the hem of her dress His eyes widened and he pulled her into a hug.
“I’m s-” He began, but she held up a finger.
“Stop. Don’t apologize Eren, it’s not your fault. We’d been fighting a lot and she would go out to bars with her friends leave me alone in the house. So after one huge fight we got into, I broke up with her.” She pulled away from Eren and gave him a reassuring smile.
“How long ago was that?”
“2 months ago.”
“Oh. Are you doing ok?”
“Yes...I mean no… I don’t know. I miss her terribly but maybe it’s for the best. Maybe we need to be away from each other for a while to clear both of our minds.”
“I hope everything works out for you, Krista.”
“Thanks, Eren.”
Eren then remembered the whole reason he came down here. “Oh, Krista! Levi asked me to have you transfer these documents to the computer.” Eren said, holding up the stack. Krista smiled and took the papers from Eren.
“Thanks, I’ll get right on that. Think we could catch up more during lunch?” Krista requested, glancing through the papers. Eren smiled.
“Definitely.”
“Great! I’ll see you at lunch then, Eren!” Krista waved as Eren turned to leave, waving back at her.
As he returned to Levi’s office, he noticed the man rubbing his temple. With an idea fresh in his mind, Eren headed over to the break room. He pulled a small bottle from the cabinet and dropped two Tylenol pills into his hand. He then pulled a paper cup from the stack and filled it with water. Eren made his way back to Levi’s office and announced his presence with a soft tap on the wooden door. As he entered the room, he was met with a glare.
“What is it brat?” Levi muttered, squinting up at him.
Eren felt his face heat up as he felt Levi’s gaze on him. He tried to ignore the look and handed him the Tylenol and water.
“How-?”
“You seem to be stressed out and you keep rubbing your temple. I just figured that you had a headache.” Levi nodded and took the pills.
As Eren turned to leave, he heard Levi speak up.
“Hey, Brat...”
“Hm?” When Eren looked back at the man, he noticed that the glare was gone, now replaced with something oddly endearing.
“Thanks,” He mumbled. Eren’s lips parted in shock, his heart pounding in his chest. Eren could feel the blush warming his face. He nodded and quickly ran out of the room, moving back to his desk. He couldn’t get his heart to stop beating so heavily, and he found himself grinning like an idiot. This day was starting out great.