Lucky | Reader x Armin

Chapter 21.

You had positioned yourself by the window, holding your drink in your hand and looking down over the city. Eren was back in the armchair he had occupied that morning.

"Thank you for today Eren." You said, still gazing out the window. "I'm sorry you had to miss so much because of me."

Eren stood up and joined you by the window, placing one hand on the sill as he looked down at you. You felt dwarfed by his presence. He towered over you.

"Don't worry about it Y/N. That's not your fault." He said, sipping on his drink and following your gaze to the people on the street below. "I joined the Scouts because I wanted to do something meaningful, not sit in on meetings and argue with politicians."

You shook your head, smiling. "Still. Thank you. I'm glad that you were with me today."

He turned around and rested his elbows and back on the windowsill, crossing his feet in front of him. "You're the one I should be thanking."

You tilted your head at him. His glowing eyes flicked back and forth between yours for a moment before his gaze fell.

"Armin's always been hard on himself, ever since we were kids. But these last few years it's gotten worse and worse." He paused.

"He told me about Erwin." You said softly.

"Good." Said Eren. "Then you know what he's been dealing with."

You nodded and he continued.

"That was a turning point for him. He was always willing to make sacrifices for us but after that he never thought twice about it."

You noticed that your grip on your glass had begun to tighten.

"Yesterday morning." His eyes found your own. "I've seen him get like that before. Many... many times." He sighed. "He puts too much responsibility on himself. If anything goes wrong he's always the first to blame himself."

"I noticed." You said sadly.

"I've seen him get like that but I've never seen anyone react the way you did." He shook his head. "I don't know if you really know what you did for him."

Armin's words from the night before echoed in hour head. I don't think you realize all you've done for me. They had been the last words you heard before falling asleep. These two could be eerily similar sometimes.

"You pulled him right out of that spiral. I know it wasn't easy for either of you but you provide a sort of... comfort to him that I don't think he's ever had in his life."

"Me?" You asked, a bit absentmindedly, sipping your drink again.

Eren chuckled and placed a hand on your head. "I was surprised when I saw you two that morning. I felt like I was walking in on a married couple."

You blushed. "I guess things have been moving pretty fast for us. Ever since Sasha's."

Eren smiled at you and you couldn't help but smile back. You suddenly had a thought, now that the mood had lightened again.

"So." You said coyly. "If you get to know everything about my personal life, will you tell me what's going on with you and Mikasa?"

Eren actually blushed. He pushed himself off of the windowsill. "Nothings going on!" He said, a bit defensively.

You raised your eyebrows at him. You didn't expect that reaction. He was usually so unaffected.

"Oh really?" You said sarcastically. "It doesn't seem that way to me."

"It's a long story." He said. "Me, Mikasa, and Armin have known each other since we were little. We were almost like siblings. You can imagine it's hard for me to... see her like that."

You shook your head. "That's a lame excuse if you ask me."

"We'll I didn't." He huffed.

You chuckled just as you heard a knock at the door. You set your empty glass down and rushed to answer it. You knew it probably wasn't Armin but you couldn't help but hope.

You turned the knob and pulled the door open to find Sasha, Mikasa, Connie, and Jean all standing on the other side.

"Woah!" Said Sasha, pushing her way past you without waiting for an invitation. The others followed suit. "This is your room?" She turned to you with wide eyes.

You nodded, biting back a giggle. You couldn't help but notice Mikasa's eyes flick between you and Eren when se walked in, looking as stiff as always.

"Holy shit Y/N this is badass." Said Connie, looking around in awe, much the same way Sasha was.

Jean was the first to find the bar and help himself to a drink, you quickly grabbed your empty glass and handed it to him, batting your eyelashes a bit. "We just got through with our last meeting." He said.

"We're you with Armin today?" You asked, trying to sound casual. The coy smile Sasha gave you told you that you had failed.

Jean nodded as he refilled your glass. "Things seem to be going well, he's with the other commanders and a few more higher ups now."

You took a big swig of your drink, bigger than you anticipated. You coughed slightly as you said. "Thank goodness."

Eren patted you on the back. "I knew everything would be fine." He said.

"Don't speak too soon, Eren." Said Mikasa. "Everything seemed fine to us but we only saw a fraction of the conversation."

"Relax." He said, poking her in the side. "You don't always have to be such a downer."

"Stop that!" She said, you thought you saw a hint of a smile as she jumped away from him.

There wasn't a lot of seating in the room, Eren stayed by the window and Mikasa joined him there, Connie and Sasha had claimed the armchairs, Jean had taken a seat on the bench at the foot of the bed, and you sat on the bed itself. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. They all looked stunning in their uniforms. You must have had three drinks by now and you noticed you were drinking a lot slower than some of the others. The sun was beginning to set and you did everything you could to keep your mind off of Armin. Eren was busy teasing Mikasa now and Connie and Sasha were deeply engrossed in a conversation that seemed to center around seafood. You and Jean had wound up chatting for quite some time. He told you all about the Scouts greatest adventures and you told him about life at Marley, both of you completely enthralled.

Jean was just telling you about what it had been like to train with Armin and the others before they became Scouts when you heard the room door click. Your head snapped to it instantly and you saw a very tired Armin stepping into the room. He scanned the room for a moment and the second his eyes found yours his face broke into a smile.

Without looking at him you pushed your drink into Jean's hands and scrambled to the other side of the bed, your feet finding the floor as your rushed over to him.

No one else seemed to notice immediately, they were all still deep in their own bubbles of conversation.

You collided with Armin, both of you wrapping your arms around each other.

"Everything's going to be okay." He whispered, his lips and nose finding your ear. "You can stay with me. And no one can do anything about it." He chuckled at the last words.

You hugged him tighter smiling widely. You pulled yourself away from him so that you could tell him how happy you were, but Armin took the opportunity to kiss you.

His hands cupped your face as he pulled you towards him. He kissed you with confidence and greed, both of you barely able to contain your smiles.

After a few moments of pure bliss, Amin pulled away. He looked down into your eyes and the corners of his lips turned up again in that heartbreaking smile you knew so well. Then his eyes lifted and focused on the rest of the room over your head.

"Hi everyone." He said breathlessly.