Lucky | Reader x Armin

Chapter 7.

You really wished you owned a dress right now. The weather wouldn't be warm enough during the day for much longer and you wanted to look a bit more feminine for your... outing with Armin. You picked up a shirt and briefly clutched it to your chest as you blushed at your own thoughts. This was basically a date. The only thing that separated it from a date was well... the fact that neither of you had referred to it as such yet.

You shook your head. You were wasting time and keeping him waiting. You needed to focus on getting ready.

You hopped in the shower to wash the dirt and sweat off of you and opted not to wash your hair since it would take too long to dry and it wasn't that bad. After your shower, you brushed it out and braided it over your shoulder, then threw on your nicest shirt and pants, ones that Armin had bought for you. You walked back out into the hall and crouched in the entryway to pull on your boots.

When you stood up again you took a second to check your reflection in the small entryway mirror. You bit your lip. You didn't think too much of yourself, but you thought you looked decent right now. You wished you could get a little more dressed up and maybe style your hair too. You really hoped this was enough for him.

Just then Armin approached you and you yanked your eyes away from your reflection to look at him. He had changed too. He was wearing a white button-up shirt and slacks. He was holding a jacket over his shoulder and wore a hat too.

You blushed as you looked at him. He smiled down at you. "You look nice."

"Thanks." You said, feeling your face get a bit warmer. "So do you."

"Ready to go?"

You nodded and he stepped around you to open the door. You went out first and he followed closely, closing the door behind him, then you followed him to the stable where he prepared the horse.

"Do you have much experience riding?" He asked.

You shook your head. "Very little." You said.

"That's no problem." He said, and suddenly his hands were on your waist as he easily lifted you right onto the saddle. You gasped. You didn't expect to suddenly be handled by him.

You stiffened a bit. You really didn't have a lot of experience with horses. Being on one felt so precarious. Armin wedged one foot into the stirrup and lifted himself up behind you, swinging his other leg around. "Just stay upright and you'll be just fine." He said. You could tell he was holding back a laugh at how stiff you were.

His legs nestled on either side of yours, and one hand took the reigns while the other found your waist, holding onto you gently. As the horse started to move you grabbed onto the pommel and leaned back into him for balance. His body was truly surrounding yours now, your back resting against his hard stomach and chest.

"You alright?" He asked gently, his lips right by your ear. The hand on your hip gave an almost imperceptible squeeze.

"I'm okay," you said tentatively. "I just..." you trailed off.

"It's okay, I know what you mean. I used to always get nervous when I rode a horse."

Oh, boy did he not know what you meant. Maybe being on a horse made you a bit uncomfortable, but your nervousness was now coming from a completely different source.

"Sorry." You said quietly. You thanked the heavens he couldn't see your face right now.

Armin chuckled softly, "No need to apologize, Y/N."

You had made it out to the main road. You had only ever been this far when Levi brought you to Armin's house initially and it had been nighttime then. You passed under the canopy of trees that stretched over the road. The trees were ablaze with colors of red, orange, and gold, and the sunlight filtering through the leaves created a kaleidoscope of light and shadow that bathed the two of you as you rode.

After a few minutes in the trees, the road opened up and you rode past small pastures of cropland. This area was full of life. People were out tending to their crops, children were playing, animals were grazing. You could see all the way to the horizon in some places.

"It's hard to imagine that all this fits within the walls," you said, as Armin waved back to a farmer who had greeted him.

"I'm glad that it seems big to you." He said, "I can't imagine what it's like to live somewhere like Marley."

"It's not all that great." You said.

Armin didn't respond but you thought you felt the hand on your hip squeeze gently.

After a few more minutes you began to approach a town. Your eyes lit up and you tried to turn towards Armin but only wound up throwing yourself off balance. His arms were around your waist, steadying you in no time.

"Sorry about that!" You said flustered, "I was just excited." You then realized you were clutching his arms and let go quickly.

"No problem at all. I imagine you are. I'm sorry I didn't think to bring you here sooner." One hand left you to retake the reigns and the other slid across your front so that it was resting on your hip again.

You weren't sure what made you feel so bold, but you placed your hand on the one on your hip and gave it a small squeeze when you said, "You have nothing to apologize for."

He was so sweet, it almost hurt every time had apologized for thinking he wasn't good enough. You felt Armin tense up slightly as you did so and released his hand quickly. You hoped that was a good reaction but it was impossible to tell without seeing him.