She Who Seemed Heartless

Chapter 18

"Shit, I'm so sorry for your loss. Are you alright...?"

"I'm fine, thank you, Eren."

"If you need someone to talk to, we're always here, Armin."

"I know. Thanks as well, Mikasa."

It took Armin a few days to inform his best friends regarding his grandfather's death. It was difficult for him to speak about it, but he was slowly beginning to cope with it. Feeling that doing so over the phone won't make him feel any better, he invited Eren and Mikasa over to his home instead. The two were excited when they visited him, possibly expecting good news, but the change on their moods were suddenly evident when Armin finally dropped the bomb. Aside from Grandfather Arlert's death, Armin told them stories of what happened back at his hometown (except the incident between him and Annie at the ocean) to lighten up the mood. He wanted to move on, so that's what he was going to do.

Eren was sprawled on the floor while eating sushi that Mikasa made herself and brought on their way to Armin's home. "Hey, I haven't seen Annie. Is she outside or just in her room?"

"Ah..."

The evening felt unusually warm for both Armin and Annie. It wasn't like this normally, not to mention the AC in his room was turned on. Apparently, it didn't prove itself useful during that night. As he continued to enjoy the taste of Annie's mouth, he gripped tightly on to her hips. Her hands were wrapped onto his wrists, but in no attempt to pry them away. He had never felt so sinful in his entire life, yet he adored the pleasure he was giving and receiving at that very moment. Another good (or bad) thing was that Annie seemed to enjoy it herself. How could he stop when she was battling him, encouraging him not to cease? 

"Mm..." Hearing her little noises made Armin even more confident to just get on with it. To hell with being 'cousins', he thought to himself. She wasn't related to him by blood anyway, so there was nothing wrong, right? Nothing could go wrong, he kept on telling himself. He pulled away from the kiss to get a chance to breathe and look at Annie's beautiful face. She didn't look too disturbed by what was happening but he could see that there was uncertainty in her eyes. 

His hands slowly made their way to her back as he laid down on the bed, bringing her along as she stayed on top of him. Waves of heat begin to possess every inch of his body, most specifically that part down there. His blush became even more prominent, suddenly feeling embarrassed and hoping that Annie won't notice.

"You kiss by the book", she abruptly mentioned in an attempt to just tease him, but Armin took the remark offensively. He quietly narrowed his eyes at her as a form of warning. Unfortunately, Annie made it even worse by asking what was wrong.

"Silly, you hurt my pride as a man." Annie raised a brow from what she heard, doubtful on how to react. He managed to smile, though, which made Annie sigh in relief but her heart skipped a beat when she felt warm hands ghosting on the skin at her back. "Let's see...", he muttered to himself. Judging from the way he was touching her, he was seemingly groping for the hooks of her bra. His movements were clumsy; she made a mental note that he indeed has no experience whatsoever, yet he knew what he was doing. He groaned in annoyance when he couldn't unhook it fast enough but when he did, a triumphant smile was plastered on his face.

"I think I need to read more books on how to do that properly."

"W-What?"

"Annie, you don't think of me as some sort of nerd who reads nothing but academic textbooks, do you? I read other stuff as well, you know."

Realization hit her like a brick and she couldn't control the blush that was invading her pale skin. Armin chuckled at this. He then slipped off one strap of her bra from her shoulder. He hesitated a bit when he was about to do the same thing to the other, but seeing Annie not retaliating, he proceeded to do so. Despite the fabric of his and her shirts acting as a wall to each other's skin, he felt the absence of the undergarment covering her breasts. Armin had the sudden and crazy urge to touch them, to feel them, to... kiss and lick them like how he had read in books he'd rather not show anyone, but he didn't want to do so without asking permission from Annie. He was just as polite as that.