Lucky | Reader x Armin

Chapter 14.

"Armin." You breathed. The sound of his name seemed to undo him. One moment he was perfectly still, almost as if he had been waiting for you to say it, silence stretching between you. The next moment, before you knew it, he dipped his head down and his lips met yours, the towel dropping to the floor, forgotten in an instant. He was gentle at first, almost achingly so, but you were greedy and you couldn't hide it. You kissed him back and let out the faintest sound of a whimper, another thing that seemed to trigger a shift in him. His kiss became possessive as he moved closer to you and wrapped his arms tightly around your waist. His mouth searched yours and the way your lips slid against each other was too much. Too much? No. That wasn't right. It wasn't enough. You wanted more. Needed it.

You pulled on the front of his shirt, still wet with rain, and he let out a soft, low moan. He moved again and your back was suddenly flush with the front door. His hands found your waist, gripping tightly and pressing your back into the door as he leaned his body into yours, one leg moving forward so that you were more caged by him. You felt his tongue slide against your lips and you parted them for him, wanting nothing more than for him to kiss you deeper.

Your heart raced as he kissed you with such intensity, and you felt lost in the moment. His hands caressed your back, sending shivers down your spine. You returned his kiss with equal fervor, wanting to show him how much you desired him.

He began to pull away but faltered when you tugged at the front of his shirt again. You needed more. You needed to feel his body pressed against yours, to be consumed by his touch, to lose yourself in him.

You arched your back. You pressed your hips firmly into his and as one of your legs snaked its way around one of his you felt his hardness. You let out a soft moan at the feel of him.

And that. That was what broke the spell. Just like that day in front of the fireplace, he seemed as if he'd forgotten himself. As if he suddenly thought better of what he was doing. And if you weren't completely reeling from that kiss, if you hadn't still been in a state of forgetting yourself, you might have punched him. What was there to think better of? Why didn't he want you?

He pulled away from your lips and rested his forehead on the door behind you, breathing heavily. You froze beneath him. His jaw was clenched.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

Your eyes instantly stung with the threat of tears. He pulled back and looked down at you, worry spreading across his face as he saw your expression. He looked at a loss for words, but even so, his composure seemed to be returning to him. "I'm so sorry." He said again, completely misreading you. His hands were on your shoulders now. He leaned down slightly so he could be at eye level with you.

You shook your head and closed your eyes. There weren't any tears falling yet but you felt the need to wipe your eyes anyway. Your wet sleeves didn't seem to do the trick. When you opened your eyes again he was still staring at you with that concerned expression. Then, as if he suddenly realized something, he let go of you and took a step back. "I shouldn't have done that. Please forgive me Y/N." The faintest flash of horror shot through his features. And then you realized. That horror was directed at himself.

Relief pierced through you but you weren't hopeful enough to believe it yet. "Is that what it is?" You asked, reaching out to grab his wrist. You felt as if he was slipping away. If you let go he might disappear. "You think I don't want you?"

His features seemed to soften once more. "Y/N." He said softly. "I don't want to do anything that you don't want. I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I-" He hesitated. His gaze dropped to the floor as he drew his bottom lip absentmindedly between his teeth. "I don't deserve you." he finished quietly.

Without hesitating, you pulled on his arm and drew him to you. Eyes stinging once more as you wound your arms around his neck. You stood on your toes so that you could bring his head into the crook of your neck and shoulder. You held him tightly there. "You do Armin. How can you think that? It hurts me to see you think so little of yourself."

Armin didn't respond, but he wrapped his arms around your waist. You stood there for a moment until you dropped down from your tip-toes and let your arms slide to his chest. "You asked me what I told your friends today to make them say they liked me." It was your turn to drop your gaze. You wanted him to know but saying it was turning out to be harder than you thought. It made you feel so vulnerable. But however you were feeling right now, you imagined he must have been feeling it even more so.

"Eren warned me not to hurt you." You chuckled slightly. "And, well, I think that triggered some kind of defensiveness in me. Him thinking that I had any kind of willingness or capacity to hurt you felt like a punch in the face. I just started talking and I couldn't stop myself." You blushed again and glanced at his face. He was staring at you, waiting to hear the rest. You dropped your gaze again and your fingers curled into the folds of his shirt. His hands slid across your back in response, fingers tracing a comforting line up and down your spine.

"I told them I could never dream of it. That I had never met anyone like you. Anyone that treated me so well, or paid such close attention to the things I like. And the way you make me feel. Armin," You let your eyes bore into his now. "I wish I could explain it. You make me feel seen. Loved even."

Your breath shuddered as you finished. "Y/N-" Armin started to say, bringing a hand up to cup your cheek. You just realized you had one more thing to say.

You pushed angrily against his chest. "So the fact that you think that I don't want you. Or that you're not good enough-" you cut yourself off and shook your head. "It's just not true! It's the opposite! And it hurts so much to see you think that and I'm so sorry if I ever did anything to make you think that."

Armin only stared at you for a moment. Then he pulled you into his arms once more. Feeling relieved and lighter, you linked your arms around him.

"Thank you." He said quietly. "I don't know what to say Y/N." You heard his voice shake. "I feel so lucky. You have no idea. The fact that you think all that- it's-" he cut himself off, apparently at a loss for words. So he hugged you closer instead.

"Armin." You said softly. You almost laughed. You pulled away from each other so that you were face to face again. "You don't have to thank me it just true. You're the one who made me feel this way. Everything you do just makes me like you more."

You cupped his face in your hands and brought his lips down to meet yours for a quick gentile kiss. "So any time you feel the desire to kiss me again. Please. Please do." You bit your lip as you smiled at him.

Armin chuckled. "Any time?" And he bent his head down to kiss you softly again.

He left you breathless as he pulled away. Remembering that he asked you a question you nodded. "Any time." Your voice sounded airier than usual.

Armin chuckled again and the sound sent a rush of emotion through you. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."