Heartbeat (Eremin)

The Old Ways

The Old Ways- Loreena McKennitt

It kind of felt like Armin was a child of the sun, Eren thought. Maybe it was just his flowery colour scheme, or his cheerfulness.
Or maybe it was how he seemed to fit in the shade under that tree, eyes closed and arms beneath his head.
Armin.
"What are you laughing at?" Armin opened his eyes, blinking at Eren in confusion.
"Just a pun..." Eren covered his mouth to hide his embarrassing grin.
"What pun?" The blond asked.
"It's nothing. It's hard to explain." Eren calmed himself down, looking to where the others were playing soccer, using the picnic tables as goals. Armin's grandfather was refereeing and Ymir and Crista had stopped playing to make out somewhere off to the side.
"Hey, let's go play."
"I'm not sure if that's a good I-whoa!" Armin never finished that sentence. Eren had already pulled him onto the "field".
"Can we join in, now?" The brunet asked the temporarily halted game.
"Sure. I was just about to take a break anyway." Marco smiled.
"Me too." Hanji stretched her body and strolled off to find a tree to sit under.
Armin sighed and took his place on the field.
The game started out good. Eren scored a few goals against Jean, which was lit. He was really working up a sweat.
He hadn't bonded with the group members like this yet. It was a welcome change.
"It's getting kinda late." Marco called out to them around three thirty. "We should all head home soon!"
Eren sighed. He was just getting in the zone.
"We should...do that...again sometime." Armin panted. His face was red and he was hunched over painfully, but he was smiling.
"Dude, you okay?" Eren ran up to his friend who was breathing raggedly.
"I'm...fine...just..." The blond started having a coughing fit and the others gathered at his side in worry.
"He's okay." His grandfather declared. "He's just not used to so much physical activity." The elder lifted the wheezing boy onto his back.
"I'm sorry Armin! I thought-"
"It's alright." Armin smiled, starting to regain his oxygen.
"Can I call you later? To make sure you're alright, I mean?" Eren asked, his face hot.
"I think Marco has my number. I'll talk to you tonight!" Armin waved as his grandfather carried him away.
Eren covered his blushing face.
Did he just ask a boy for his number?

***

Armin was napping off his fatigue when Eren called.
It was about seven PM at that point but he still felt tired. He knew he shouldn't have pushed his body so hard after not exercising for as long as he had, but in the heat of the moment he was having a blast and didn't feel pain at the time.
"How are ya feeling?" Eren's voice asked through the phone speakers.
"Much better. Thank you!"
"Did you drink lots of water?"
"What are you? A mystic messenger boy?"
"Please tell me you don't play man harem games on your phone."
"No! I just came across a meme once." Armin insisted.
"I didn't expect you of all people to be a Meme Lord."
"Sweaty, I'm a Shitpost King. Bone app the teeth."
"I Shitpost to mask my pain." Eren wailed.
"Drink to forget!"
"Armin, what the hell are you talking about?" Grandfather poked his head into the living room, looking at the sinful child with so much judgement.
"It's a kid thing, grandpa."
The old man rolled his eyes and went back to doing crosswords in the kitchen.
"So...uh..." Eren sounded awkward, hesitant. "Do you wanna hang out with me after the meeting tomorrow?"
"Yeah! Sure! Did you have any plans?"
"Pizza and a movie with me and Mikasa?"
"Sounds fun! I'll ask my grandpa."
Armin and Eren said their goodbyes and ended their call after that. The small blond fell asleep smiling that night.
He had never had a friend like this before.

Attack on Titan: Canadian edition
The Titans freeze to death

Attack on Titan: British edition
The Titans aren't any problem because they don't see the sun and are always dormant.

Attack on Titan: American edition
The Titans don't even want to bother with America just like the rest of the world lmao