Stray {Ereri~Attack On Titan AU}

Chapter 6

It's seven in the morning when I wake up, and I sit up to find Armin sitting upright on his side of the bed reading a book. I furrow my brows as I stretch. "Why are you up so early?"

His head lifts at my voice, and he smiles. "I always get up early to have some free time to myself before Mikasa comes to pick me up." He closes the book and sets it on the bedside table and stretches his arms above his head, his tail straightening beside him. I scratch my ear and stand up with a sigh, looking around the room. "Levi...can I tell you something?" I hum. "You have to swear you won't say a word to Eren." I raise an eyebrow and wait for him to continue. The blonde's ears flatten slightly and his gaze drops to his lap. "I...I like Eren."

My tail twitches as I meet Armin's eyes. "Oh?"

A blush crawls across his cheeks as he nods. "I don't know what to do. I mean, of course I love Mikasa, she's my owner. But I've...I've always had feelings for Eren...and I think she knows that."

I sit on the edge of the bed facing Armin. "You think that has anything to do with her over protectiveness?"

"More than likely." Armin sighs. "Mikasa has been extremely kind to me and she's given me almost everything I've ever needed. She's taken care of me since all three of us were kids." I cross my legs and rest my chin in my hand as he continues. "I've had a crush on Eren for as long as I can remember."

I groan and Armin frowns. "Am I seriously about to get an earful of the usual 'childhood friends' romance story? Let me ask you something; what was the moment for you? Like, the moment where everything just fell into place and you realized you had deep feelings for him?"

Armin blushes again and he smiles softly. "It was a few years ago. Eren has always been so fascinated with the ocean. Whenever he would talk about it, his whole demeanor changed. It was like he was a whole different person. He seemed happier when talking about going to actually see it one day. That was the moment for me; seeing him so happy like I'd never seen before." Armin's smile suddenly seems sad. "I wish he would smile at me the same way he does when talking about the ocean."

I resist the urge to roll my eyes and let out a huff of air instead. "Just grow a pair and tell him how you feel, idiot."

"It's not that simple!"

"But isn't it? I mean honestly, the worst thing he could do is reject you. I don't think it gets any worse than that."

Armin's ears fall and he looks down again. "I don't even know if he likes me back."

"That's what asking questions is for, idiot." Armin glares at me and hops off the bed, striding towards the door.

"Whatever. I'm going to see if Eren's awake." I finally let my eyes roll, and I go over to the closet and take out my hoodie and jeans that I came in a few days ago. It still felt kind of weird to be here in this situation, but I wasn't going to complain. Never know when I could end up back out on the streets.

Once I'm dressed I head into the living room to find Eren sitting on the couch with Armin in his lap. Eren pets the neko's head gently and smiles up at me. "Morning Levi. Would you like some coffee?"

I crinkle my nose. "No thanks. I'm not a huge coffee fan."

Eren hums quietly. "Do you like tea?"

My ears perk. "Actually yes, I do like tea." Eren smiles and scoots Armin off of his lap and heads for the kitchen, filling a glass with hot water and pulls a box out of the cupboard above him full of different kinds of tea.

He motions for me to join him, and I saunter into the kitchen next to him and I don't hesitate to open the box. I rummage through it until I find a pack of Earl Grey. A small smile tugs at my lips as I dunk the teabag into the water. After a few dunks I bring the cup to my lips and sigh contentedly when I take a sip, the hot tea warming my insides. I moan quietly and I feel my tail curl behind me happily. "Is it good?" Eren's voice snaps me out of my paradise, and I smirk.