whatcha listening to? -armin arlert

thirty one

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The tears that had fallen on my way to Armin's dorm have dried on my cheeks, leaving salty trails down to my neck, and I hastily wipe them away as I wait for Armin to answer my knock. He had been understandably concerned at my frantic texts asking where he is, and probably thinks that someone died or a building burned down.

"Hey- what's wrong?" He says as he opens his door, and the tears start again.

"I- Annie- I was fired- I need a job-" I say between sobs as I stand in the doorway.

"Slow down, it's okay." Armin interrupts me as he grabs my hand to pull me into his dorm, immediately wrapping me in a tight hug.

"It's not okay!" I cry into his chest. Anger, embarrassment, and panic flood my body as I think about how Annie just jeopardized my only means to support myself at school. I pay for my own education, and the job at the campus bookstore meant a discount on my tuition, as well as a means to pay for the rest and housing.

"So, you were fired, and it's because of Annie?" Armin asks quietly as he drags me over to his bed.

"Y-yes. Maybe? My boss mentioned her when he was talking to me." I finally answer somewhat coherently as Armin sits next to me on his bed, smoothing my hair back from my face and wiping the tears from my chin before they drip off.

"(Y/N), I am so sorry." He whispers, looking down to his lap.

"Why are you sorry? I was the- I was gossiping about her." I ask through my gasps, trying my best to subdue my tears.

"I thought that when I talked to her, it meant you didn't have to deal with her anymore. I dragged you into this." Armin says softly, avoiding my eyes.

"It's not your fault, I shouldn't have talked about Annie to Mikasa." I reply, already knowing where I went wrong. "I just have to find a new job before we come back from break."

"Let me help you." He says, and even though he won't admit it again, I know he still thinks this is his fault.

"You don't-"

"Please." Armin says as he brings his gaze to mine again, and the guilt in his eyes nearly takes my breath away.

"Okay." I say quietly, leaning into him to wrap my arms around him. He brings his arms around my shoulders, pulling me into a hug before falling backwards onto his bed. He pulls his arm away to reach for his phone, and I watch as he opens a job searching website.

"Can we do that later? Between speaking to my mom and getting fired, I just want to relax." I say, sitting up from where I was laying on his chest with my legs hanging over the bed.

"Of course. Do you want to talk about your conversation with your mom?" Armin asks as he moves to lean back against his pillows, opening his arms for me to lay on him again. I quickly kick my shoes off, and crawl up beside him. Situating my head on his shoulder, I sigh as he wraps his arms around me once again, playing with my hair absentmindedly as he always does.

"Not really. But long story short, I have the official okay to host you and the others." I say as I play with his hoodie strings hanging down his chest.

"You didn't have it before?" He asks, and I wince at his question.

"No, but you know it's complicated."

"I know." Armin confirms, and I look up at him.

"Thank you for letting me cry to you." I say quietly, only for him to smooth my hair and press a kiss to my forehead.

"Anything for you."

"You say that a lot."

"I mean it." Armin answers, only for us to fall into a comfortable silence. I let out a final shaky breath as my tears subside, Armin's fingers swiping gracefully over my face to remove the remnants.