Chasing Stars {Ereri/Riren}

23. Lavender

video: Red String of Fate by ThisLoveMakorra

"How long has it been now? Six weeks?" I questioned Levi giddily, lip jerking. He hummed in agreement, crossing his arms. I wrapped a hand around his side gawkily, and the male glanced at me. Armin's jaw dropped, eyes widening, and a faint dusting of pink danced across his cheekbones. He brought folded hands to his chest. Mikasa squinted at me, trying to convey something. Her mouth twisted into a grimace.

"Eren!" Armin cried, and he rushed forward to encompass me in a stumbling hug. I furrowed my brows, patting his back awkwardly, and then stiffened. Armin sobbed openly into the crook of my neck, limp against me. Mikasa watched almost in amusement.

I held the dandelion at arm's length, staring at him in concern. "Hey," I rushed. "Armin, chill. I'm not pregnant."

Armin laughed, tears glistening as they fell from him. "You finally accepted your inner rainbow!" (I blanched.) "Now I have a friend to go on double dates with!" (The corner of Levi's right eye twitched with cavil.) "All that's left is Mikasa!" (She glared at him, open mouthed.)

"We aren't thirteen, you twit-" Levi began, but I cut him off with laughter.

"Absolutely, my friend," I accented, giving the two ravens a pleading wink, if there ever was one. One arm slung over the bookworm's shoulders, I nudged my head into his bowl cut as we strolled off of the college apartment premises. "Yo, Armin," I muttered as we left their earshot.

He looked over. "Eren?"

"Levi and I gotta go soon. Grisha still has yet to know." Armin's mouth formed an "o". "Take care of Mika for me? We- hopefully- won't be long."

"Sure," he promised, tugging a scarf momentarily to his reddening nose. "Cold, isn't it?"

"Yeah." I pulled my coat tighter and then we headed back to the others. "It is December."

"Speaking of, what do you plan on getting Levi for Christmas?"

"Oh, I dunno... We might not even celebrate it. He's atheist, and that's his birthday, too."

"Who's birthday?" Levi eavesdropped suspiciously.

I scrunched my freezing nose at him. "Yours. Shall we get going?" His shoulders visibly slumped in displeasure, and Mikasa stepped forward in surprise.

Armin darted to her. "Let's go see a movie, Mikasa!"

She looked as if she'd just noticed the blonde. "I-"

"We should see Avatar while it's still in the theater."

I hooked my arm through Levi's and dragged him to his getaway vehicle. "While we can." He unlocked the car, and I stepped into the passenger side.

"Do we have to?" he inquired, starting it up.

I sent him a look. "He's still my dad," I countered, pulling a dramatic sigh from the raven. "Also," I added, snatching a small paperback from my pocket. "Here."

He accepted To Kill a Mockingbird and placed it on the slab in between the seats. "Took you long enough."

I let out an exasperated groan. "Classics take forever."

"Months?"

"I'm not counting in all the stuff I have to do to survive, all the time studying and working and being with you." He hummed in response.

It'd been almost two months since Levi and I had officially become a couple. Mikasa and Armin, today, were the first to be informed. That meant Erwin and eventually everyone would know- those who hadn't guessed already.